tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7224206690870340098Sat, 17 Mar 2018 12:40:29 +00002013 Hundie ChallengeMaverick LCSWGuestBraineater JonesWomen in Horror MonthThe Ghoul ArchipelagoA Fistful of Zombies26 Week Blog ChallengeBilly and the CloneasaurusNaNoWriMoAt Hell's GatesRe-AnimatedKoz & EffectYOU DECIDEBrave New GirlsLife on MarsEvery Kingdom DividedHunter of the DeadScript FrenzyDreadFat ZombieReview Week!Making the SausageRejected For ContentReader MailbagSLASHVIVOR!The HematophagesWhispers of the ApocClickers ForeverMachine of DeathManuscripts Burn"Manuscripts don't burn."
- Mikhail Bulgakovhttp://manuscriptsburn.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.com (Stephen Kozeniewski)Blogger1295125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7224206690870340098.post-3877708005380399920Wed, 14 Mar 2018 19:17:00 +00002018-03-14T15:17:22.487-04:00Why I Won't Be Reviewing Books AnymoreSo I'd like your input on something, dear readers.<br /><br />Up until now I've been a very studious book reviewer.&nbsp; I've talked on this very blog about t<a href="http://manuscriptsburn.blogspot.com/2014/10/koz-effect-episode-4-soliciting-reviews.html">he importance of reviews</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;how difficult they are for authors to garner.&nbsp; So, putting my money where my mouth is, I've done my best to review as many books, movies, and even just goods and services as I can.&nbsp; Again, I've done that a lot <a href="http://manuscriptsburn.blogspot.com/search/label/Review%20Week%21">right here on this blog</a>.<br /><br />But I've also talked about <a href="http://manuscriptsburn.blogspot.com/2015/08/on-reviewing-books-you-hate.html">how difficult it is, as an author, to write reviews</a>.&nbsp; I think it's understood that authors are also readers, and we're also (fairly or not) looked at as a sort of breed of "super-readers."&nbsp; You should probably really listen to the review of a person who has read and reviewed hundreds, perhaps thousands, of books.&nbsp; But in practice, those aren't the reviews that get shared on book covers.&nbsp; Blurbs come from other authors.&nbsp; Paul Tremblay, for instance, got an unsolicited blurb from Stephen King for A HEAD FULL OF GHOSTS, and that's been featured on every book he's written since.<br /><br />I've been asked for blurbs.&nbsp; I've also asked other authors for blurbs.&nbsp; And while that whole business is its own kettle of fish, it's made me understand that an author writing a book review is not quite the same thing as a reader writing one.<br /><br />Discussing another matter with a publisher of mine recently, it suddenly all gelled when he said something along the lines of, "I've never seen an author succeed when he tried to keep being a reviewer."&nbsp;<br /><br />And it makes sense.&nbsp; Are you going to be the guy who's constantly shitting on your friends and peers in order to maintain your honesty and integrity?&nbsp; Or are you going to be a cheerful Santa Claus, handing out five-star reviews to everybody and sundry, whether they deserve it or not?&nbsp; Those are really the only two outcomes, and neither one is going to be good for your reputation.&nbsp;<br /><br />So I've decided as of now I'm not going to be reviewing the books I read anymore, except for the usual give-and-take of author blurbs.&nbsp; If you follow me on <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7183355.Stephen_Kozeniewski">Goodreads</a>, you may have noticed this already.&nbsp; &nbsp;I felt it was important to state this publicly somewhere, though, lest Michael Garza, Christina Bergling, Greg F. Gifune, and the other estimable authors I've read so far this year take offense, or think that they are in some special category of "so bad I couldn't review it."&nbsp; Far from it, in fact.&nbsp; The books I've read this year have been extraordinary.&nbsp; I just don't think it's healthy or wise to keep pretending to be some impartial judge of an ecosystem in which I'm so fully integrated.<br /><br />So, what do you think, gentle readers?&nbsp; Am I making a terrible mistake?&nbsp; Can this needle actually be threaded?&nbsp; Or have you all been rolling your eyes in disgust and wondering when I would finally make this obvious decision?&nbsp; Let me know in the comments below.&nbsp; Thanks!&nbsp;http://manuscriptsburn.blogspot.com/2018/03/why-i-wont-be-reviewing-books-anymore.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Stephen Kozeniewski)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7224206690870340098.post-2267162995658191785Mon, 12 Mar 2018 19:40:00 +00002018-03-12T15:40:19.879-04:00The Electric Monk<span data-ft="{&quot;tn&quot;:&quot;K&quot;}" data-reactid=".l.1:3:1:$comment10151937510708907_29455766:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.0:3"><span class="UFICommentBody" data-reactid=".l.1:3:1:$comment10151937510708907_29455766:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.0:3.0"><span data-reactid=".l.1:3:1:$comment10151937510708907_29455766:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.0:3.0.0"><span data-reactid=".l.1:3:1:$comment10151937510708907_29455766:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.0:3.0.0.$end:0:$0:0">The term "thoughts and prayers" has become shorthand for hypocritical inertia recently.&nbsp; The first time I recall hearing it used as a punchline was in <a href="https://www.avclub.com/bojack-horseman-aims-at-gun-control-and-fails-to-hit-th-1802974114">an episode</a> of the most recent season of "Bojack Horseman," but I'm sure that wasn't the first occasion.&nbsp; As of the recent Parkland High School it's come in vogue as parlance for "the assholes with the power to do something about gun control refuse to."</span></span></span></span><br /><span data-ft="{&quot;tn&quot;:&quot;K&quot;}" data-reactid=".l.1:3:1:$comment10151937510708907_29455766:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.0:3"><span class="UFICommentBody" data-reactid=".l.1:3:1:$comment10151937510708907_29455766:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.0:3.0"><span data-reactid=".l.1:3:1:$comment10151937510708907_29455766:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.0:3.0.0"><span data-reactid=".l.1:3:1:$comment10151937510708907_29455766:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.0:3.0.0.$end:0:$0:0"><br /></span></span></span></span><span data-ft="{&quot;tn&quot;:&quot;K&quot;}" data-reactid=".l.1:3:1:$comment10151937510708907_29455766:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.0:3"><span class="UFICommentBody" data-reactid=".l.1:3:1:$comment10151937510708907_29455766:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.0:3.0"><span data-reactid=".l.1:3:1:$comment10151937510708907_29455766:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.0:3.0.0"><span data-reactid=".l.1:3:1:$comment10151937510708907_29455766:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.0:3.0.0.$end:0:$0:0">And why?&nbsp; Well, imagine a sailor has fallen overboard and is drowning.&nbsp; He sees his comrades up on the ship and calls out to them.&nbsp; They even hear him.&nbsp; They know he's there.&nbsp; They even have life preservers, hanging right there on the gunwales or whatever they're called.&nbsp; But instead of tossing the damn life preserver, the drowning sailors comrades call down to him, "We see your plight down there and we're really rooting for you."</span></span></span></span><br /><span data-ft="{&quot;tn&quot;:&quot;K&quot;}" data-reactid=".l.1:3:1:$comment10151937510708907_29455766:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.0:3"><span class="UFICommentBody" data-reactid=".l.1:3:1:$comment10151937510708907_29455766:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.0:3.0"><span data-reactid=".l.1:3:1:$comment10151937510708907_29455766:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.0:3.0.0"><span data-reactid=".l.1:3:1:$comment10151937510708907_29455766:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.0:3.0.0.$end:0:$0:0"><br /></span></span></span></span><span data-ft="{&quot;tn&quot;:&quot;K&quot;}" data-reactid=".l.1:3:1:$comment10151937510708907_29455766:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.0:3"><span class="UFICommentBody" data-reactid=".l.1:3:1:$comment10151937510708907_29455766:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.0:3.0"><span data-reactid=".l.1:3:1:$comment10151937510708907_29455766:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.0:3.0.0"><span data-reactid=".l.1:3:1:$comment10151937510708907_29455766:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.0:3.0.0.$end:0:$0:0">That's what "my thoughts and prayers are with the victims" has become.&nbsp; An infuriating statement of do-nothingness.</span></span></span></span><br /><span data-ft="{&quot;tn&quot;:&quot;K&quot;}" data-reactid=".l.1:3:1:$comment10151937510708907_29455766:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.0:3"><span class="UFICommentBody" data-reactid=".l.1:3:1:$comment10151937510708907_29455766:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.0:3.0"><span data-reactid=".l.1:3:1:$comment10151937510708907_29455766:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.0:3.0.0"><span data-reactid=".l.1:3:1:$comment10151937510708907_29455766:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.0:3.0.0.$end:0:$0:0"><br /></span></span></span></span><span data-ft="{&quot;tn&quot;:&quot;K&quot;}" data-reactid=".l.1:3:1:$comment10151937510708907_29455766:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.0:3"><span class="UFICommentBody" data-reactid=".l.1:3:1:$comment10151937510708907_29455766:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.0:3.0"><span data-reactid=".l.1:3:1:$comment10151937510708907_29455766:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.0:3.0.0"><span data-reactid=".l.1:3:1:$comment10151937510708907_29455766:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.0:3.0.0.$end:0:$0:0">Gun control is a complicated fucking issue, and I'm not even very well versed on it.&nbsp; But what's the point of me outlining any arguments here?&nbsp; If you're on the internet to read this blogpost, you already know literally every talking point on both sides of the spectrum.&nbsp; Guns don't kill people, people kill people.&nbsp; Australia banned guns and they don't have gun violence anymore.&nbsp; Switzerland has the highest gun ownership rate in the world and no gun violence, either.&nbsp; But in Switzerland guns are locked up by the National Guard and ammunition is all but impossible to purchase.&nbsp; Small arms are a constitutional right, and no one can trample on our constitutional rights.&nbsp; But common sense gun control could at least keep people from dying all the goddamned time.&nbsp; And without guns, the government could take over.&nbsp; But what good are guns going to do against tanks?&nbsp; And so forth.</span></span></span></span><br /><span data-ft="{&quot;tn&quot;:&quot;K&quot;}" data-reactid=".l.1:3:1:$comment10151937510708907_29455766:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.0:3"><span class="UFICommentBody" data-reactid=".l.1:3:1:$comment10151937510708907_29455766:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.0:3.0"><span data-reactid=".l.1:3:1:$comment10151937510708907_29455766:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.0:3.0.0"><span data-reactid=".l.1:3:1:$comment10151937510708907_29455766:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.0:3.0.0.$end:0:$0:0"><br /></span></span></span></span><span data-ft="{&quot;tn&quot;:&quot;K&quot;}" data-reactid=".l.1:3:1:$comment10151937510708907_29455766:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.0:3"><span class="UFICommentBody" data-reactid=".l.1:3:1:$comment10151937510708907_29455766:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.0:3.0"><span data-reactid=".l.1:3:1:$comment10151937510708907_29455766:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.0:3.0.0"><span data-reactid=".l.1:3:1:$comment10151937510708907_29455766:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.0:3.0.0.$end:0:$0:0">So it's whatever.&nbsp; I hope the Parkland kids are able to start a movement that changes gun culture in this country.&nbsp; But I also know the genie's out of the fucking bottle, and there are millions of guns out there available today.&nbsp; There's no easy solution to turning this thing around.&nbsp; Doing nothing but sending thoughts and prayers seems untenable, but we've also been doing it for twenty years, so, you know, "untenable" is probably the wrong word in that circumstance.</span></span></span></span><br /><span data-ft="{&quot;tn&quot;:&quot;K&quot;}" data-reactid=".l.1:3:1:$comment10151937510708907_29455766:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.0:3"><span class="UFICommentBody" data-reactid=".l.1:3:1:$comment10151937510708907_29455766:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.0:3.0"><span data-reactid=".l.1:3:1:$comment10151937510708907_29455766:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.0:3.0.0"><span data-reactid=".l.1:3:1:$comment10151937510708907_29455766:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.0:3.0.0.$end:0:$0:0"><br /></span></span></span></span>Instead, today I'd like to talk about the relationship between religion and the internet.&nbsp; When I was religious, prayer was&nbsp; deeply personal business that I attended to by my lonesome in solemn meditation and thought, and once a week in a communal session where we were encouraged to pray about certain things.&nbsp; My recollection of the Bible, admittedly coming from a certain religious vantage point from a certain cultural vantage point, and all of the usual caveats, was that you weren't supposed to pray in public.&nbsp; Jesus condemned the Pharisees for praying in public and rocking and quaking, and calling attention to their piousness.&nbsp; It indicated, according to Jesus, a lack of true piety, and a desire for recognition that was incompatible with real religiosity.<br /><br />But people still pray in football stadiums and rock and quake and now they broadcast their thoughts and prayers on the internet.&nbsp; Politicians broadcast it as the closest thing to action they plan to take on mass shootings.&nbsp; And that made me wonder...are these people who claim to be thinking and praying even actually doing it?&nbsp; Or is simply stating that you've thought and prayed the extend of your actions there?<br /><br />Remember the Electric Monk from DIRK GENTLY'S HOLISTIC DETECTIVE AGENCY?&nbsp; He was a robot created to pray because none of the people had time to anymore.&nbsp; The implication being that a deity demanded prayer of some sort, but it didn't really matter who was actually doing it, as long as it was being done.&nbsp; And now it feels like the internet has become our Electric Monk.<br /><br />Have you ever seen a meme on Facebook that indicated "like" or "share" this meme to pray for the subject...usually some miserable suffering little kid who likely doesn't even exist?&nbsp; So in this case, is clicking like actually replacing prayer?&nbsp; Is the implication that you can only click like if you actually got down on your knees and prayed about it?&nbsp; Or, as it seems to me, is it that the act of "liking" the meme is the same as praying in the eyes of the Lord?&nbsp;&nbsp;<span data-reactid=".l.1:3:1:$comment10151937510708907_29455766:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.0:3.0.0"><span data-reactid=".l.1:3:1:$comment10151937510708907_29455766:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.0:3.0.0.$end:0:$0:0">Because whatever your thoughts on religion, if FBing is replacing a</span></span><span data-reactid=".l.1:3:1:$comment10151937510708907_29455766:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.0:3.0.3"><span data-reactid=".l.1:3:1:$comment10151937510708907_29455766:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.0:3.0.3.0"><span data-reactid=".l.1:3:1:$comment10151937510708907_29455766:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.0:3.0.3.0.$end:0:$0:0">ctually communing with your deity, that's a fascinating development of the modern age.</span></span></span>http://manuscriptsburn.blogspot.com/2018/03/the-electric-monk.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Stephen Kozeniewski)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7224206690870340098.post-9193077432705838041Fri, 09 Mar 2018 20:05:00 +00002018-03-09T15:05:15.378-05:00Re-AnimatedRe-Animated #15: Space Ghost Coast to Coast/The Brak ShowWelcome back, friend-os!<br /><br />The year (chronologically, according to our ongoing timeline) is 2001.&nbsp; After "<a href="http://manuscriptsburn.blogspot.com/2016/01/re-animated-1-simpsons.html">The Simpsons</a>" brought the idea of primetime, adult-oriented animation into the mainstream, there were a few clones, some <a href="http://manuscriptsburn.blogspot.com/2016/01/re-animated-2-also-rans.html">failures</a>, some successes, but nonetheless cancelled ("<a href="http://manuscriptsburn.blogspot.com/2016/01/re-animated-3-critic.html">The Critic</a>," "<a href="http://manuscriptsburn.blogspot.com/2016/03/re-animated-4-duckman.html">Duckman</a>") and some had managed to weather the storm and become Sunday-night staples ("<a href="http://manuscriptsburn.blogspot.com/2016/05/re-animated-5-king-of-hill.html">King of the Hill</a>," "<a href="http://manuscriptsburn.blogspot.com/2016/06/re-animated-8-futurama.html">Futurama</a>," "<a href="http://manuscriptsburn.blogspot.com/2016/06/re-animated-7-family-guy.html">Family Guy</a>.")<br /><br />Then, after "<a href="http://manuscriptsburn.blogspot.com/2016/10/re-animated-13-rejected.html">Rejected</a>" opened the door, came the experiments.&nbsp; Weirdo-beardo experimental adult animation litters the airwaves today, but at the beginning of the millennium, they were pretty much all concentrated on [adult swim].&nbsp; In the <a href="http://manuscriptsburn.blogspot.com/2018/01/re-animated-14-sealab-2021.html">last entry</a>&nbsp;in this series, I went over what Cartoon Network was doing and why, which boils down to trying to find new ways to repurpose the newly acquired Hanna-Barbera cartoons of yesteryear.<br /><br />Now, likely some of you have been yelling at me for a while about not including "Space Ghost Coast to Coast," which debuted in 1994, in this blog series.&nbsp; Well, the truth is, I was waiting for this entry to hit it.&nbsp; Unfortunately, chronological order is not always perfect, but we do what we can.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Space Ghost, Moltar, and Zorak sit around a coffee table" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/b/b2/Space_Ghost_Coast_to_Coast.png" /></div><br />"Space Ghost Coast to Coast" was one of the earlier experiments Cartoon Network did with repurposing the Hanna Barbera back catalog.&nbsp; Space Ghost was one of the lesser-remembered characters of '60s animation, and one of the more batshit ones, which is saying something in the era of Adam "Bat Octopus Repellant" West.&nbsp;<br /><br />Space Ghost himself was a serious-minded character, but he flew around space with a pair of twins and a pet monkey fighting villains.&nbsp; In a way, his less-than-stellar history made Space Ghost a prime candidate for repurposing in a way that, say, Superman would not.&nbsp; You can imagine the jeers and proto-internet anger around someone's beloved childhood superhero being made an object of derision.&nbsp; In Space Ghost's case, there were mostly crickets.<br /><br />And so "Space Ghost Coast to Coast" came to be.&nbsp; It is, in a lot of ways, a prototype for what would become [adult swim].&nbsp; Using pre-existing characters allowed the writers to eschew normal origin stories, and the fiscal limitations of the whole product led to an unusual, surreal brand of comedy.&nbsp; You can imagine, I suppose, this process.&nbsp;<br /><br />"Let's dub the character's mouth movements.&nbsp; Nothing quite fits.&nbsp; Eh, fuck it, let's just say some nonsense."<br /><br />"We have a little clip of the characters doing something from the original show.&nbsp; If we use it, we'll save on the animation budget.&nbsp; Let's write a way in for them to go running off on a different planet or something."<br /><br />And so forth.&nbsp; But SGCTC followed a pretty simple format that allowed for these weird asides.&nbsp; The concept was that Space Ghost, who took himself ridiculously seriously, was now a talk show host.&nbsp; His former enemies, lava monster Moltar, the cat-like Brak, and space mantis Zorak, had now been shanghaied into being his producer, Ed McMahon-style sidekick, and bandleader, respectively.<br /><br />Mostly the characters would bicker, their old statuses as enemies having never quite been forgotten.&nbsp; Space Ghost, as a talk show host, would have guests on, who appeared in live action on a television screen within the animated studio.&nbsp; In an early version of what would evolve into Tim and Eric-esque anti-humor, Space Ghost would either bicker with his guest, ignore him altogether, or force him to play the straight man.&nbsp; We'd also see this concept by-and-large revisited in the later-era, live-action talk show "The Colbert Show."&nbsp; The guests, depending on how game they were, would either become irritated or play along, in any case allowing for some amusing shenanigans.<br /><br />I haven't revisited SGCTC in many years, but that's pretty much for the same reason I haven't revisited '90s era Conan O'Brien shows or even something I loved more recently like "The Daily Show."&nbsp; And the simple reason is because talk shows don't age well.&nbsp; Unless something someone was slumming it back then and went on to become a major celebrity or if there's some kind of universal, age-proof sketch, talk shows are disposable media of their era, and best left to it.&nbsp; I imagine there are still diamonds from the SGCTC era, but I shall leave the business of sifting them from the rough to you, dear readers.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="The Brak Show.png" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/5/56/The_Brak_Show.png" /></div><br />Now, with that as preface, we can talk about SGCTC's spinoff (well...or whatever) "The Brak Show."&nbsp; "Brak" aired alongside "Sealab 2021," "Harvey Birdman," and "Aqua Teen Hunger Force" in the original [adult swim] lineup.&nbsp; Even amongst such scintillating stoner comedy companion pieces, "Brak" easily won the race for most sophomoric.<br /><br />Which is not to say that I dislike "Brak."&nbsp; I enjoyed the show a great deal, and think it has been somewhat forgotten in the scrum of people saying which [adult swim] shows they liked best.&nbsp; But "Brak" was, most likely deliberately, the "dumb" show.&nbsp; Brak himself was exceedingly dumb.&nbsp; Zorak also made the jump over from SGCTC, this time as Brak's cruel and exploitative neighbor.<br /><br />His villain days long behind him, Brak mostly worried about being nice to people (usually while failing miserably and fucking things up) and singing jaunty tunes.&nbsp; His father is an out-of-place normal-sized human surrounded by giant monsters, and a vaguely wise, vaguely psychotic figure with a Latino accent.&nbsp; Think Desi Arnaz by way of Donald Trump.&nbsp; His mother is possibly whatever feline race Brak is, originally with an American accent, then later with a British accent when the voice actress was replaced.&nbsp; In keeping with the general ethos, the change was often mentioned but never explained.<br /><br />And, aside from Brak's many anthropomorphized&nbsp;stuffed animals, rounding out the cast was perhaps "The Brak Show's" greatest creation, Mr. Thundercleese.&nbsp; Thundercleese is a giant, world-saving robot with a soft side, often fussing about his goldfish and whatnot, but never in anything less than an insane, auto-tuned bravado.&nbsp;<br /><br />"Brak" was the first of the original [as] shows to be cancelled, after four seasons.&nbsp; So, in a way, it feels like it made less of an impact than it did.&nbsp; But for setting up the network's ongoing ethos, it's at least a quarter responsible.&nbsp; So, if you've never seen it, it's worth a re-watch.&nbsp;<br /><br />On the next two installments of "Re-Animated," we'll be rounding out the rest of the original [adult swim] lineup.&nbsp; Hope to see you there!http://manuscriptsburn.blogspot.com/2018/03/re-animated-15-space-ghost-coast-to.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Stephen Kozeniewski)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7224206690870340098.post-3361487152199440550Thu, 08 Mar 2018 02:16:00 +00002018-03-08T20:41:48.560-05:00Making the SausageMaking the Sausage: Book LengthYou may find this hard to believe, but I'm a bit of a nerd.<br /><br />I like to make spreadsheets to plan things out.&nbsp; I've already discussed the spreadsheets I use to track my agent queries and review requests.&nbsp; Similarly, I'm a slave to my Pokemon Go spreadsheet (it lets me know which Pokemon should be evolved, which need to be walked, and so forth.)<br /><br />A few weeks ago I decided I needed to get a head up on my <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/user_challenges/11631346">Goodreads reading challenge for 2018</a>.&nbsp; It's been five years since <a href="http://manuscriptsburn.blogspot.com/search/label/2013%20Hundie%20Challenge">the Hundie Challenge</a> when I read the Top 100 Novels of the 20th Century (according to The Modern Library.)<br /><br />The last few years I said fuck it and read at the rate and pace I felt like.&nbsp; Needless to say, I did not read much.&nbsp; So this year I decided a challenge might make a dent in my TBR pile and make me feel better about how illiterate I am.&nbsp; But by the end of February I was already way, way behind.&nbsp; So I decided to make a spreadsheet of the Kindle books I own and sort them by length.&nbsp; I figured I could knock out a bunch of the shorter books, thus seriously making inroads into the length of my TBR pile, if not the volume necessarily.<br /><br />As I was attempting to sort my Kindle TBR pile by length, I noticed something.&nbsp; I had no idea how to sort it by length.&nbsp; I've explained in the past how books are measured by word length, because 500 words could be a 30-page children's book or a single page of an unillustrated adult novel.&nbsp; Depending on formatting, books of the same length in words can vary by sometimes hundreds of pages.&nbsp; I knew this, but I figured it wouldn't be terribly hard for someone to determine the length of his Kindle books.<br /><br />Boy was I wrong.<br /><br />Let's take a look at a short sample of my spreadsheet, shall we?<br /><br /><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 365px;"> <colgroup><col style="mso-width-alt: 11922; mso-width-source: userset; width: 245pt;" width="326"></col> <col style="mso-width-alt: 1426; mso-width-source: userset; width: 29pt;" width="39"></col> </colgroup><tbody><tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;"> <td height="20" style="height: 15.0pt; width: 245pt;" width="326">Title</td> <td style="width: 29pt;" width="39">PP</td> </tr><tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;"> <td class="xl64" height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">CUT CORNERS</td> <td align="right" class="xl65">32</td> </tr><tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;"> <td class="xl63" height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">THE ELDER UNEARTHED</td> <td align="right">85</td> </tr><tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;"> <td class="xl63" height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">THE ROAD TO HELL IS PAVED WITH ZOMBIES</td> <td align="right">97</td> </tr><tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;"> <td class="xl64" height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">KINGDOM OF SHADOWS</td> <td align="right" class="xl65">99</td> </tr><tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;"> <td class="xl64" height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">SQUABBIT FARM</td> <td align="right" class="xl65">101</td> </tr><tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;"> <td class="xl63" height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">GAMELAND</td> <td align="right">130</td> </tr><tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;"> <td class="xl63" height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">DOWN</td> <td align="right">139</td> </tr><tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;"> <td class="xl63" height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">UNDEAD</td> <td align="right">154</td> </tr><tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;"> <td class="xl63" height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">THE KERES STRAIN</td> <td align="right">155</td> </tr></tbody></table><br /><div>In this instance I've sorted the TBR list by page length, per Amazon.&nbsp; But I know pages are based on formatting, so I squinted and took at look at the Kindle "location" length.&nbsp; Here's what I came up with:</div><div><br /></div><div><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 440px;"> <colgroup><col style="mso-width-alt: 11922; mso-width-source: userset; width: 245pt;" width="326"></col> <col style="mso-width-alt: 2742; mso-width-source: userset; width: 56pt;" width="75"></col> <col style="mso-width-alt: 1426; mso-width-source: userset; width: 29pt;" width="39"></col> </colgroup><tbody><tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;"> <td height="20" style="height: 15.0pt; width: 245pt;" width="326">Title</td> <td style="width: 56pt;" width="75">Location</td> <td style="width: 29pt;" width="39">PP</td> </tr><tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;"> <td class="xl66" height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">CUT CORNERS</td> <td align="right" class="xl67">406</td> <td align="right" class="xl67">32</td> </tr><tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;"> <td class="xl66" height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">FANTASTIC EARTH DESTROYER ULTRA PLUS</td> <td align="right" class="xl67">650</td> <td align="right" class="xl67">255</td> </tr><tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;"> <td class="xl66" height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">SQUABBIT FARM</td> <td align="right" class="xl67">1099</td> <td align="right" class="xl67">101</td> </tr><tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;"> <td class="xl66" height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">KINGDOM OF SHADOWS</td> <td align="right" class="xl67">1462</td> <td align="right" class="xl67">99</td> </tr><tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;"> <td class="xl65" height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">THE WANING</td> <td align="right">2068</td> <td align="right">183</td> </tr><tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;"> <td class="xl65" height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">LUST, MONEY &amp; MURDER</td> <td align="right">2323</td> <td align="right">278</td> </tr><tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;"> <td class="xl65" height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">THE HORROR SQUAD</td> <td align="right">2441</td> <td align="right">278</td> </tr><tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;"> <td class="xl68" height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">HE LEFT HER AT THE ALTAR</td> <td align="right" class="xl69">2508</td> <td align="right" class="xl69">168</td> </tr><tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;"> <td class="xl65" height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">SACRIFICE</td> <td align="right">2540</td> <td align="right">180</td> </tr></tbody></table></div><div><br /></div><div>Hmm.&nbsp; Not quite the same is it?&nbsp; So then I thought to myself, perhaps there is some kind of ratio between location and page length.&nbsp; Once I had that ratio I could simply multiply that number by the page length and get the actual lengths of every book in my pile.&nbsp; But a quick attempt to do so determined that was not the case:</div><div><br /></div><div><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 479px;"> <colgroup><col style="mso-width-alt: 11922; mso-width-source: userset; width: 245pt;" width="326"></col> <col style="mso-width-alt: 2742; mso-width-source: userset; width: 56pt;" width="75"></col> <col style="mso-width-alt: 1426; mso-width-source: userset; width: 29pt;" width="39"></col> <col style="mso-width-alt: 1426; mso-width-source: userset; width: 29pt;" width="39"></col> </colgroup><tbody><tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;"> <td height="20" style="height: 15.0pt; width: 245pt;" width="326">Title</td> <td style="width: 56pt;" width="75">Location</td> <td style="width: 29pt;" width="39">PP</td> <td class="xl72" style="width: 29pt;" width="39"></td> </tr><tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;"> <td class="xl67" height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">CUT CORNERS</td> <td align="right" class="xl68">406</td> <td align="right" class="xl68">32</td> <td align="right" class="xl73">12.69</td> </tr><tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;"> <td class="xl67" height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">FANTASTIC EARTH DESTROYER ULTRA PLUS</td> <td align="right" class="xl68">650</td> <td align="right" class="xl68">255</td> <td align="right" class="xl73">2.55</td> </tr><tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;"> <td class="xl67" height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">SQUABBIT FARM</td> <td align="right" class="xl68">1099</td> <td align="right" class="xl68">101</td> <td align="right" class="xl73">10.88</td> </tr><tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;"> <td class="xl67" height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">KINGDOM OF SHADOWS</td> <td align="right" class="xl68">1462</td> <td align="right" class="xl68">99</td> <td align="right" class="xl73">14.77</td> </tr><tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;"> <td class="xl65" height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">THE WANING</td> <td align="right">2068</td> <td align="right">183</td> <td align="right" class="xl72">11.30</td> </tr><tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;"> <td class="xl65" height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">LUST, MONEY &amp; MURDER</td> <td align="right">2323</td> <td align="right">278</td> <td align="right" class="xl72">8.36</td> </tr><tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;"> <td class="xl65" height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">THE HORROR SQUAD - 2441</td> <td align="right">2441</td> <td align="right">278</td> <td align="right" class="xl72">8.78</td> </tr><tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;"> <td class="xl70" height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">HE LEFT HER AT THE ALTAR</td> <td align="right" class="xl71">2508</td> <td align="right" class="xl71">168</td> <td align="right" class="xl74">14.93</td> </tr><tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;"> <td class="xl65" height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">SACRIFICE</td> <td align="right">2540</td> <td align="right">180</td> <td align="right" class="xl72">14.11</td> </tr></tbody></table></div><div><br /></div><div>The ratios ranged from 2.5 to 23.8.&nbsp; Basically, that's useless.&nbsp; Even an average of the ratios would be useless.&nbsp; So here I had been thinking that Kindle "locations" were independent of formatting - but they are not.&nbsp; But I was not out of data yet.&nbsp; So next I decided to sort by the length of time it takes to read.&nbsp; Surely that would get me to the center of this Tootsie Pop.</div><div><br /></div><div><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 575px;"> <colgroup><col style="mso-width-alt: 11922; mso-width-source: userset; width: 245pt;" width="326"></col> <col style="mso-width-alt: 4937; mso-width-source: userset; width: 101pt;" width="135"></col> <col style="mso-width-alt: 2742; mso-width-source: userset; width: 56pt;" width="75"></col> <col style="mso-width-alt: 1426; mso-width-source: userset; width: 29pt;" width="39"></col> </colgroup><tbody><tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;"> <td height="20" style="height: 15.0pt; width: 245pt;" width="326">Title</td> <td style="width: 101pt;" width="135">Length in minutes</td> <td style="width: 56pt;" width="75">Location</td> <td style="width: 29pt;" width="39">PP</td> </tr><tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;"> <td class="xl67" height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">CUT CORNERS</td> <td class="xl69">&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;30</td> <td align="right" class="xl68">406</td> <td align="right" class="xl68">32</td> </tr><tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;"> <td class="xl67" height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">FANTASTIC EARTH DESTROYER ULTRA PLUS&nbsp;</td> <td class="xl69">&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;30</td> <td align="right" class="xl68">650</td> <td align="right" class="xl68">255</td> </tr><tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;"> <td class="xl67" height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">SQUABBIT FARM</td> <td align="right" class="xl67">78</td> <td align="right" class="xl68">1099</td> <td align="right" class="xl68">101</td> </tr><tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;"> <td class="xl70" height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">HE LEFT HER AT THE ALTAR</td> <td align="right" class="xl70">116</td> <td align="right" class="xl71">2508</td> <td align="right" class="xl71">168</td> </tr><tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;"> <td class="xl67" height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">KINGDOM OF SHADOWS</td> <td align="right" class="xl67">117</td> <td align="right" class="xl68">1462</td> <td align="right" class="xl68">99</td> </tr><tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;"> <td class="xl65" height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">THE ELDER UNEARTHED</td> <td align="right" class="xl66">123</td> <td></td> <td align="right">85</td> </tr><tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;"> <td class="xl65" height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">THE MYTH OF FALLING</td> <td align="right" class="xl66">146</td> <td></td> <td align="right">188</td> </tr><tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;"> <td class="xl65" height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">THE WANING</td> <td align="right" class="xl66">150</td> <td align="right">2068</td> <td align="right">183</td> </tr><tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;"> <td class="xl65" height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">LUST, MONEY &amp; MURDER</td> <td align="right" class="xl66">164</td> <td align="right">2323</td> <td align="right">278</td> </tr></tbody></table></div><div>Um...no.&nbsp; That's when I realized that the length of time it takes to read a Kindle book is not some independent, objective time.&nbsp; It must be based on an average of the length of time it took every reader which Kindle collected information on to read.&nbsp; So very popular books would have different average read lengths from very unpopular books.&nbsp; And books which are easy to read would have very different lengths from denser books.</div><div><br /></div><div>At this point I was starting to tear my hair out.&nbsp; As you can see, a few of the regular suspects kept cropping up, so I could guess that CUT CORNERS, for instance, was going to be a quick read no matter what.&nbsp; But otherwise the books in my TBR pile varied so much by page length, time to read, and location length, that I had no idea what the hell constituted "short" anymore.</div><div><br /></div><div>But one more vital statistic called to me.&nbsp; I noticed that ever kindle book has a series of dots under it.&nbsp; And I guessed that those dots represented content.&nbsp; FANTASTIC EARTH DESTROYER ULTRA PLUS, for instance, is a somewhat lengthy book at 255 pp, but it is illustrated, so its actual content of words is very small.&nbsp; Pulling out a magnifying glass I set to the laborious task (yes, as I stated at the outset, I am a nerd) of counting dots.&nbsp; And here's what I came up with:</div><div><br /></div><div><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 491px;"> <colgroup><col style="mso-width-alt: 11922; mso-width-source: userset; width: 245pt;" width="326"></col> <col style="mso-width-alt: 2742; mso-width-source: userset; width: 56pt;" width="75"></col> <col style="mso-width-alt: 1426; mso-width-source: userset; width: 29pt;" width="39"></col> <col style="mso-width-alt: 1865; mso-width-source: userset; width: 38pt;" width="51"></col> </colgroup><tbody><tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;"> <td height="20" style="height: 15.0pt; width: 245pt;" width="326">Title</td> <td style="width: 56pt;" width="75">Location</td> <td style="width: 29pt;" width="39">PP</td> <td style="width: 38pt;" width="51">Dots</td> </tr><tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;"> <td class="xl67" height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">FANTASTIC EARTH DESTROYER ULTRA PLUS</td> <td align="right" class="xl68">650</td> <td align="right" class="xl68">255</td> <td align="right" class="xl68">3</td> </tr><tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;"> <td class="xl67" height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">SQUABBIT FARM</td> <td align="right" class="xl68">1099</td> <td align="right" class="xl68">101</td> <td align="right" class="xl68">3</td> </tr><tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;"> <td class="xl67" height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">CUT CORNERS</td> <td align="right" class="xl68">406</td> <td align="right" class="xl68">32</td> <td align="right" class="xl68">3</td> </tr><tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;"> <td class="xl65" height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">THE ELDER UNEARTHED</td> <td></td> <td align="right">85</td> <td align="right">4</td> </tr><tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;"> <td class="xl67" height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">KINGDOM OF SHADOWS</td> <td align="right" class="xl68">1462</td> <td align="right" class="xl68">99</td> <td align="right" class="xl68">4</td> </tr><tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;"> <td class="xl65" height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">THE MYTH OF FALLING</td> <td></td> <td align="right">188</td> <td align="right">6</td> </tr><tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;"> <td class="xl65" height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">THE WANING</td> <td align="right">2068</td> <td align="right">183</td> <td align="right">6</td> </tr><tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;"> <td class="xl65" height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">DOWN</td> <td></td> <td align="right">139</td> <td align="right">7</td> </tr><tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;"> <td class="xl65" height="20" style="height: 15.0pt;">REMORSELESS</td> <td></td> <td align="right">203</td> <td align="right">7</td> </tr></tbody></table></div><div>Now that looks a bit more like it.</div><div><br /></div><div>So what's the moral of this story?&nbsp; I don't fucking know.&nbsp; I just thought it might be interesting to look at how hard it is to determine the actual lengths of books, particularly on Kindle.&nbsp; Remember the old adage "Don't judge a book by its cover?"&nbsp; Similarly, I suppose we should not judge a book by its width.</div>http://manuscriptsburn.blogspot.com/2018/03/making-sausage-book-length.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Stephen Kozeniewski)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7224206690870340098.post-6760178051964606842Mon, 05 Mar 2018 21:25:00 +00002018-03-05T16:25:04.880-05:00On ShitbirdsI've been thinking about shitbirds a lot lately.&nbsp; Not deliberately.&nbsp; In fact, if I could, in any way, avoid them, I would.&nbsp; There's just been a veritable army of people popping up lately who want to take a big old shit on society and common decency and then act all flustered when they get called out on it.<br /><br />Am I talking about anyone in particular?&nbsp; Yes.&nbsp; Am I going to name and shame?&nbsp; No, not in this particular circumstance.&nbsp; And, incidentally, this post has been planned since before WiHM began, so you're not going to be able to pop over to my social media and backwards engineer who in particular I might be referring to.<br /><br />What I want to talk about today is not any particular shitbird, just their general behavior.&nbsp; So picture, if you will, someone who decides to toss a turd into the swimming pool of the internet: it could be a statement that's bigoted, libelous, misogynistic, what have you.&nbsp; Now here's where our narrative splits into two branches.<br /><br />Now, I'm a normally socialized human being, or at least I like to think so.&nbsp; I'm aware that I was born a few decades ago and societal norms have changed.&nbsp; On the playground I used to regularly say "gay" to mean, quite literally, "stupid."&nbsp; Add thirty or forty years to me and I'm going to have grown up in a time when "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner" was considered some groundbreaking, progressive stuff.&nbsp; Am I going to slip up and say something ugly online now and then?&nbsp; Statistically, it seems quite likely.&nbsp; Hell, comb through the archives of this blog and it probably hasn't been all that terribly long.<br /><br />So what would I do if somebody called me out for saying something nasty and out-of-fashion?&nbsp; Well, I'd most likely apologize.&nbsp; If I was feeling a bit salty that day, I might even bring up my age and say I didn't really mean it that way and it's hard for a leopard to change its spots.&nbsp; But most likely, unless I thought somebody was being willfully obtuse and nitpicky, I'd probably feel bad and apologize for it.&nbsp; Or maybe, worst case scenario, ignore it or even delete it out of shame.<br /><br />But here's the other branch of the narrative.&nbsp; More and more lately I've been seeing people who toss a bomb, then defend it.&nbsp; Then the next step is to say that anyone who pointed out that the shitbird tossed a bomb is being overly sensitive.&nbsp; Then the next step is to say that anyone who disagreed with the statement is a bully.&nbsp; So these shitbirds double down, triple down, even quadruple down on what adds up to being an ass.<br /><br />So, setting aside that I know some people are just hopelessly obtuse and narcissistic and will never admit that anything they've done is wrong I'm left to wonder...why?&nbsp; Why die on the hill of an unpopular statement?&nbsp; I mean, even if you're nothing but self-serving, you'd think you'd prefer to rescind your unpopular opinion.&nbsp; If the choice comes down to being thought of as an asshole or not, why wouldn't you prefer not?<br /><br />Then I found out about Vox Day's book about lying SJWs, which will, strangely enough, remain untitled and unlinked-to here.&nbsp; Now this book serves as essentially a playbook for a particular strain of right-wing trolls, which, though I have no special love for conservatives in general, I don't care to lump in with the entirety of that political coalition.&nbsp; And in the book Day outlines this basic plan: toss a bomb, double down on it, insist that anyone who disagrees is overly sensitive, once things get heated insist anyone who disagrees is a bully, then by the end you have a great big flaming dumpster fire of negative press.&nbsp; But then, all press is good press, right?&nbsp; And hopefully you've roped in a few detractors more popular than yourself to give you an undeserved signal boost.<br /><br />So here's my question for you, dear readers.&nbsp; Does this work?&nbsp; Is it effective?&nbsp; Is it desirable?&nbsp; Is it deliberate?&nbsp; As I said, I can't swear that everyone who does it is doing so because they're following Day's playbook.&nbsp; They might just be severely myopic narcissists.&nbsp; But that being said, are these shitbirds actually getting the attention they so clearly crave in any lasting kind of way?&nbsp; After going through with this bomb-throwing, do other shitbirds then follow their careers closely?&nbsp; Does it boost product sales?&nbsp; Or is it a garbage fire that just needs to be consistently fed?&nbsp; In a way, are people who call out shitbirds playing into their hands?&nbsp; Is it best to just ignore their shitty statements?&nbsp; Or should we go on making a point of calling them out?&nbsp; Your thoughts in the comment section would be very welcome.http://manuscriptsburn.blogspot.com/2018/03/on-shitbirds.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Stephen Kozeniewski)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7224206690870340098.post-5644709453221447646Fri, 02 Mar 2018 17:00:00 +00002018-03-02T12:00:21.514-05:00A Comprehensive List of Every Conversation Held in a Workplace EverA comprehensive list of every conversation held in a workplace ever.<br /><br /><br />1.<br /><br /><br />A: Hello. How are you?<br />B: I am well. However, it could be better. It could be afternoon/Friday/a holiday.<br />A: I agree with your assessment.<br /><br /><br />2.<br /><br /><br />A: Oh, I notice you're wearing a [color] shirt.<br />B: That is an accurate representation of the facts.<br />A: X, Y, and myself/not myself are also wearing [color.] It must be [Color] Day and I got/did not get the memo.<br />B: Fascinating.<br /><br /><br />3.<br /><br /><br />A: Yum, the object in the microwave smells delicious.<br />B: I am aware of that fact as I am the one that put said object there.<br />A: Did you make that or did your spouse/significant other make it?<br />B: I/my spouse/my significant other made it.<br />A: Fascinating.<br /><br /><br />4.<br /><br /><br />A: Do you remember [coworker who formerly worked here]?<br />B: I do not. My employment began after theirs terminated.<br />A: [Coworker who formerly worked here] was quite a card. Once they did something amusing/outrageous/no longer appropriate for the workplace. Perhaps you had to have been there/known them to properly appreciate this story.<br />B: Likely so, yet you related the anecdote so vividly that I could still appreciate it.http://manuscriptsburn.blogspot.com/2018/03/a-comprehensive-list-of-every.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Stephen Kozeniewski)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7224206690870340098.post-1744387618057579380Wed, 28 Feb 2018 17:00:00 +00002018-02-28T12:00:11.099-05:00Women in Horror MonthWomen in Horror Month #12: Shelly Rosamilia, Co-Host of Lunch Ladies Book Club and Co-Owner of Project Entertainment Network<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://womeninhorrormonth.com/"><img border="0" data-original-height="581" data-original-width="1600" height="145" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dYbskqPFYCo/Wmf5kb4FWJI/AAAAAAAAC7M/0HPwkOBkXy8Cn2ko42IaVQjXCqth10JRQCLcBGAs/s400/WiHM9-Black-vector.png" width="400" /></a></div><br /><i>Hey everybody!&nbsp; Thanks for hanging out this month.&nbsp; I'll see you back here Friday with my regular nonsense, and I can't wait to do this again next year!&nbsp; I think we got to meet a lot of great authors, editors, publishers, and the like.&nbsp; One thing I really want to keep doing on the blog here, especially for WiHM, is to interview people a little bit outside of the publishing field.&nbsp; So I'm delighted today to get to introduce one of the most important people in horror marketing and broadcasting, the very talented <a href="https://projectentertainmentnetwork.com/">Shelly Rosamilia</a>!&nbsp; Let's meet her briefly then jump into the interview.&nbsp;&nbsp;</i><br /><br /><h3>About <a href="https://projectentertainmentnetwork.com/">Shelly Rosamilia</a>:</h3><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://projectentertainmentnetwork.com/"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="640" height="640" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-3wJTu2uLerI/WmeHd7-GCiI/AAAAAAAAC64/GAsCK34_6zUhlAyHRvsaHmqLEkeCmnqhQCLcBGAs/s640/Shelly.jpg" width="426" /></a></div><br /><a href="https://projectentertainmentnetwork.com/">Shelly Rosamilia</a> is the co-host of the <a href="https://projectentertainmentnetwork.com/lunch-ladies-book-club/">Lunch Ladies Book Club</a> podcast and co-owner of the <a href="https://projectentertainmentnetwork.com/">Project Entertainment Network</a>.&nbsp; You can find her on the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/Lunchladiesbc/">LLBC Facebook</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/LunchLadiesBC">LLBC Twitter</a>, <a href="https://www.instagram.com/lunchladiesbc/">LLBC Instagram</a>, and the <a href="https://projectentertainmentnetwork.com/">PEN website</a>.<br /><br /><h3>Interview:</h3><br />SK: How are you involved in the world of horror?<br /><br /><div><span style="color: red;">SR:&nbsp; I am 1/3 of the <a href="https://projectentertainmentnetwork.com/lunch-ladies-book-club/">Lunch Ladies Book Club Podcast</a>. We review books from many genres and horror is one of them. I am also married to a horror author and I enjoy reading some horror. </span><br /><br />SK: Who or what terrifies you?<br /><br /><div><span style="color: red;">SR:&nbsp; Things that can actually happen. A movie that scared me the most in my teens was "The People Under the Stairs." All I could think was that a house with people trapped in it like that could actually exist. I am obsessed with watching "Investigation Discovery (ID)," I love true crimes and seeing how they get solved and I take comfort in knowing the bad guys got caught. I find real life to be the scariest. </span><br /><span style="color: red;"><br /></span>SK: Are there unique challenges to being a woman in horror or do you feel like gender is irrelevant? <br /><br /></div><div><span style="color: red;">SR:&nbsp; For my part I don't see any difference. I know as a reader it does not make a difference to me if the writer is male or female, the quality of the work is what stands out. </span><br /><br />SK: Who are your favorite female horror icons? <br /><br /></div><div><span style="color: red;">SR:&nbsp; I don't watch much horror but I recently read <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Darcy-Coates/e/B00HVNVT0E/">Darcy Coates</a> and enjoyed my 1st haunted house book. I did read <a href="https://www.amazon.com/V.C.-Andrews/e/B000APX11U/">V.C. Andrews</a>, <a href="http://amzn.com/B004CLYL2Q/">FLOWERS IN THE ATTIC</a>, as a kid and loved it, instantly fell in love and had to read the entire series. </span><br /><span style="color: red;"><br /></span><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Image result for lunch ladies book club podcast" src="https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQnqmme4a-lry_zQ-jG1UV4rY8g8jv_8YlFDAfnFxj_yfq1OOx5" /></div><br />SK: What are you working on/promoting currently? Why should folks check it out? <br /><br /><span style="color: red;">SR:&nbsp; <a href="https://projectentertainmentnetwork.com/lunch-ladies-book-club/">The Lunch Ladies Podcast</a> is my current project. My co-hosts, Ashley, Mimzie and I take turns selecting a book from whatever genre we decide and we break it up over 3 weeks. We discuss it in great detail, giving our opinion of what we like or don't like. Where we feel it is outstanding or where it falls short. At the end of the final episode we give it a rating of anywhere from 0 to 5 spatulas. It has been great to be exposed to books I would have never picked for myself but have enjoyed. It gets us out of our comfort zone and exposes us to new authors. </span><br /><br /><span style="color: red;">I am also co-owner of <a href="https://projectentertainmentnetwork.com/">Project Entertainment Network</a> with my husband <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Armand-Rosamilia/e/B004S48J6G/">Armand Rosamilia</a>. We currently have 25 different podcasts on the network, many centered in the horror genre. Two of our newest additions is <a href="https://projectentertainmentnetwork.com/cosmic-shenanigans/">Cosmic Shenanigans</a> by <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Mary-SanGiovanni/e/B0034QB11O/">Mary SanGiovanni</a> and <a href="https://projectentertainmentnetwork.com/origins/">Origins</a> by <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Jaimie-Engle/e/B01AYA69M8/">Jaimie Engle</a>, both amazing woman in horror. </span><br /><br /><span style="color: red;">I hope people will check me out on <a href="https://projectentertainmentnetwork.com/lunch-ladies-book-club/">Lunch Ladies BC</a> so we can all read and discuss books together. What makes them great, what do we as readers want to see, what shocks us, what disappoints us. As a reader nothing is worse then finding a book that you cannot stop thinking about and having no one to discuss it with. The <a href="https://projectentertainmentnetwork.com/lunch-ladies-book-club/">Lunch Ladies BC</a> podcast is a great place to share all of your thoughts. </span><br /><br /><span style="color: red;">Hopefully people will check out the network because it has so much to offer. Whatever topic you find interesting we have a show for you. </span><br /><br /><h3>About <a href="https://projectentertainmentnetwork.com/lunch-ladies-book-club/">Lunch Ladies Book Club</a>:</h3><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://projectentertainmentnetwork.com/lunch-ladies-book-club/"><img alt="Image result for &quot;lunch ladies book club&quot;" src="https://secureimg.stitcher.com/feedimagesplain328/138895.jpg" /></a></div><br />Lunch Ladies Book Club - a blonde, a redhead and a brunette walk into a bookstore... Three well-read babes serving up hot reviews on the freshest indie books this side of the lunch counter. Join Shelly, Mimzie and Ashley each week as they dive deep and give you the breakdown on the books and authors you need to know. Who will win their prestigious Golden Spatula? Tune into <a href="https://projectentertainmentnetwork.com/">Project Entertainment Network</a>'s newest girl gang!</div></div>http://manuscriptsburn.blogspot.com/2018/02/women-in-horror-month-12-shelly.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Stephen Kozeniewski)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7224206690870340098.post-8481313399125047073Mon, 26 Feb 2018 17:00:00 +00002018-02-26T12:00:05.206-05:00Women in Horror MonthWomen in Horror Month #11: Monica J. O'Rourke, Author of WHAT HAPPENS IN THE DARKNESS<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://womeninhorrormonth.com/"><img border="0" data-original-height="581" data-original-width="1600" height="145" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dYbskqPFYCo/Wmf5kb4FWJI/AAAAAAAAC7M/0HPwkOBkXy8Cn2ko42IaVQjXCqth10JRQCLcBGAs/s400/WiHM9-Black-vector.png" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i>If you've been following our interview series, you've already seen today's guest's name crop up.&nbsp; That's because she is one of the undisputed greatest authors in the extreme horror genre.&nbsp; I'm very pleased to introduce you to today's guest, the legendary&nbsp;<a href="https://www.facebook.com/MonicaJORourke">Monica J. O’Rourke</a>!</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><h3>About <a href="https://www.facebook.com/MonicaJORourke">Monica J. O'Rourke</a>:</h3><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/MonicaJORourke"><img border="0" data-original-height="1195" data-original-width="1600" height="298" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LF6hU4dm_-M/WpB1_nCh3aI/AAAAAAAAC8c/uN-jZ-wemok2R1OMOR_UUXq1UlvwHFXoACEwYBhgL/s400/me%252C%2Bevil.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></div></div><div><a href="https://www.facebook.com/MonicaJORourke">Monica J. O’Rourke</a> has published more than one hundred short stories in magazines and anthologies, such as CLICKERS FOREVER: A TRIBUTE TO J.F. GONZALEZ, POSTSCRIPTS, NASTY PIECE OF WORK, "Fangoria," and <a href="http://amzn.com/B002DYJKNY/">THE MAMMOTH BOOK OF THE KAMA SUTRA</a>. She is the author of <a href="http://amzn.com/B01JTRAANQ/">POISONING EROS</a>, written with Wrath James White, <a href="http://amzn.com/B01CV6HZIU/">SUFFER THE FLESH</a>, <a href="http://amzn.com/B00H8X6J9S/">WHAT HAPPENS IN THE DARKNESS</a>, and the collection <a href="http://amzn.com/B01CUTHQYG/">IN THE END, ONLY DARKNESS</a>. Her books and stories have been published in Germany, Greece, Poland, and Russia. She is a freelance editor and book coach.<br /><br />You can find her on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/MonicaJORourke">Facebook</a>, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/EditingMoJo/">her editing page on Facebook</a>, and <a href="https://twitter.com/MonicaJORourke">Twitter</a>.</div><br /><h3>Interview:</h3><br />SK: How are you involved in the world of horror?<br /><br /><span style="color: red;">MJO:&nbsp; I’m a horror writer but also an editor. I’ve edited books and stories by a number of our colleagues! Been doing this for about a decade but been a fan of horror since I was a kid. I remember snatching my grandmother’s paperbacks—<a href="http://amzn.com/B008IU9KQO/">JAWS</a>, <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Amityville-Horror-Jay-Anson/dp/1416507698/">THE AMITYVILLE HORROR</a>, <a href="http://amzn.com/B004V5180G/">THE EXORCIST</a>, <a href="http://amzn.com/B01MTOGL4E/">ROSEMARY'S BABY</a>, <a href="http://amzn.com/B004CLYL2Q/">FLOWERS IN THE ATTIC</a>—when I was 11 or 12.</span><br /><br />SK: Who or what terrifies you? <br /><br /><span style="color: red;">MJO:&nbsp; Serial killers terrify me. Sexual sadists—men who enjoy sexually torturing their victims—terrify me. Seems like the worst way to die. There’s no reasoning with them because they have no empathy and get off inflicting pain. That just refuses to register in my brain. On the flipside, I have a fascination with/terror of sharks. Never wrote about them though (I have written about serial killers/sexual sadists).</span><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/MonicaJORourke" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="297" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-lgbujk6D270/WmVjT7YEdWI/AAAAAAAAC6E/2oaqZ58fGn0kVbhUOqHgRnxAD4RfMqpNACK4BGAYYCw/s400/me%2Bw%2Bzombie%2Bmug.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><br />SK: Are there unique challenges to being a woman in horror or do you feel like gender is irrelevant?<br /><br /><span style="color: red;">MJO:&nbsp; Ohhhhh … I can’t really answer this in a paragraph. Let’s just say that YES, being a woman in horror has its challenges … the least of which is the sexism and misogyny we face. (Don’t believe me? Grab twenty recent horror anthologies and see how many women are in the ToC.) I’m not saying it’s all sexism. As someone who’s read slush for various publication, women aren’t exactly beating down the door to submit to open calls. This all needs to be addressed. How do we get more women to submit their work? And how do we get men to read and accept this work?</span><br /><br />SK: Who are your favorite female horror icons?<br /><br /><span style="color: red;">MJO:&nbsp; Interesting. Horror icons, and not horror writers? So do you mean women like Jamie Lee Curtis? Honestly, I don’t have favorites. I’m racking my brains and no one is coming to mind.</span><br /><br />SK: What are you working on currently?<br /><span style="color: red;"><br /></span><span style="color: red;">MJO:&nbsp; I’m working on a novel … but it’s slow going. I don’t write as much as I used to! (I was quite prolific back in the day …)</span><br /><span style="color: red;"><br /></span>About <a href="http://amzn.com/B00H8X6J9S/">WHAT HAPPENS IN THE DARKNESS</a>:<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://amzn.com/B00H8X6J9S/"><img alt="19393281" src="https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1442885534l/19393281.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div class="MsoPlainText">Manhattan died, along with much of the country. Twelve-year-old Janelle lost her family in one horrific night and managed to escape into a no-longer-recognizable city. As she struggles for survival, she comes across something much worse than the decimated landscape, much worse than the enemy soldiers patrolling the streets night and day. Another force has been unleashed, one hell-bent on destroying the invading enemy—but now that they’re out, there’s no turning back.</div>http://manuscriptsburn.blogspot.com/2018/02/women-in-horror-month-11-monica-j.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Stephen Kozeniewski)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7224206690870340098.post-3140149354457976318Fri, 23 Feb 2018 17:00:00 +00002018-02-23T13:29:28.064-05:00Women in Horror MonthWomen in Horror Month #10: Christine Morgan, Author of SPERMJACKERS FROM HELL<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://womeninhorrormonth.com/"><img border="0" data-original-height="581" data-original-width="1600" height="145" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dYbskqPFYCo/Wmf5kb4FWJI/AAAAAAAAC7M/0HPwkOBkXy8Cn2ko42IaVQjXCqth10JRQCLcBGAs/s400/WiHM9-Black-vector.png" width="400" /></a></div><br /><i>If you're even tangentially associated with the horror field, you're likely to be familiar with today's guest.&nbsp; An author, reviewer, fan fiction creator, and just general all-around good person,&nbsp;<a href="https://christinemariemorgan.wordpress.com/">Christine Morgan</a>&nbsp;is no stranger to fans of horror and bizarro.&nbsp; (And if you're nice to her, you just might receive a batch of cookies or a demented doll in the mail - or both!)</i><br /><br /><h3>About <a href="https://christinemariemorgan.wordpress.com/">Christine Morgan</a>:</h3><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://christinemariemorgan.wordpress.com/"><img height="355" src="https://apis.mail.yahoo.com/ws/v3/mailboxes/@.id==VjN-_5z4o-lwpAgyPfrFO5vAP1TlPqLAZ6qVSjdafFZJpa_T8BZI6J6jv2wPoWrihVhq4QS589m2ULn4HOf3kMCF_g/messages/@.id==AHaq1QoAACmBWlV9KwwKCLR-Tzk/content/parts/@.id==2/thumbnail?appId=YMailNorrin&amp;downloadWhenThumbnailFails=true&amp;pid=2" width="400" /></a></div><br /><a href="https://christinemariemorgan.wordpress.com/">Christine Morgan</a>&nbsp;divides her writing time among many genres, from horror to historical, from superheroes to smut, anything in between and combinations thereof. She's a future crazy-cat-lady and a longtime gamer, who enjoys British television, cheesy action/disaster movies, cooking and crafts.<br /><br />Her short stories have appeared in dozens of anthologies. Her most recent novels include <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Murder-Girls-Christine-Morgan/dp/1940154111/">MURDER GIRLS</a>, <a href="https://www.amazon.com/His-Blood-Christine-Morgan/dp/1927580412">HIS BLOOD</a>, and <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Horned-Ones-Cornucopia-Christine-Morgan/dp/1927580005/">THE HORNED ONES: CORNUCOPIA</a>. She'll have a collection of bloodthirsty Viking tales coming out in 2017.<br /><br />She also edits (her current ongoing project being the <a href="http://fossillake.wordpress.com/">Fossil Lake Anthology series</a>), is a regular contributor to <a href="http://thehorrorfictionreview.blogspot.com/">The Horror Fiction Review</a>, and recently relocated to Portland where she's delighted to be involved with the horror and bizarro writer scene.<br /><br />You can find her on her <a href="https://www.facebook.com/christine.morgan.3154/">personal Facebook</a>, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/christinemorganauthor/">business Facebook</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/CMorganAuthor">Twitter</a>, and her website.<br /><br /><h3>Interview:</h3><br />SK: How are you involved in the world of horror?<br /><span style="color: red;"><br /></span><span style="color: red;">CM: First, foremost, and always as a reader and fan. Horror's been my genre of choice for as long as I can remember, since watching old monster movies with my dad and sneaking paperbacks from my grandpa's shelf he had to keep in the garage. I knew I wanted to write horror but held back for a long time, thinking I couldn't do it, thinking I should stick with fantasy ... but I got over that. These days, I write, I review (been a regular contributor to&nbsp;</span><a href="http://thehorrorfictionreview.blogspot.com/">The Horror Fiction Review</a><span style="color: red;">&nbsp;for a lot of years now), I dabble in editing, and I enjoy horror media in many forms. I also do freaky doll-modifications, many of which tend toward horror, or are from books and movies. </span><br /><br />SK: Who or what terrifies you? <br /><br /><span style="color: red;">CM: I felt ridiculously proud of myself recently when, leading up to a medical procedure, I was asked if I was claustrophobic and I was able to say no. It's, like, one of the few phobias I don't have. Creepy-crawlies is probably the big one; things with too many legs or not enough legs freak me right the heck out. Heights. Depths (oceanic; I have a real dread/fascination for undersea horrors). Of course, the bigger-scope things like death and loss and loneliness; particularly with the abovementioned medical procedures, I've developed an even keener appreciation for fearing helplessness, loss of dignity, unfinished business, that sort of thing. </span><br /><br />SK: Are there unique challenges to being a woman in horror or do you feel like gender is irrelevant?<br /><span style="color: red;"><br /></span><span style="color: red;">CM: I don't know how unique they are after all this time. I was a gamer girl in the 1980s and looooong since sick of any of that "girls can't/don't, are too nice, only play healers, only want romance" nonsense. Girls, and women of any age, can be goddamn vicious. It's absurd we still have to point out <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Mary-Wollstonecraft-Shelley/e/B00JLNLC7C/">Mary Shelley</a> spearheading the genre, or the ages of women telling scary stories going back to the dawn of time ... look at our fairy tales, how many of those are pure horror stories ... the Grimm brothers get the credit for collecting them but it was women telling those tales. At this point in my life, I mostly just sigh and eyeroll, though I do reserve the right to smack people with copies of <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Monica-J.-ORourke/e/B00AOO3SLU/">Monica O'Rourke</a>'s books, for instance. </span><br /><br />SK: Who are your favorite female horror icons?<br /><br /><span style="color: red;">CM: I just namedropped&nbsp;</span><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Monica-J.-ORourke/e/B00AOO3SLU/">Monica</a><span style="color: red;">, though I don't know if she quite counts as an icon just yet; same could be said for so many of my contemporary sisters. There are a LOT of super-talented, super-skilled ladies out there. Icons, though, I'm never sure how to define that. Characters? Personae? Mythological figures? I mean, yes, okay, maybe a lot of the myths casting the evil as feminine were more of the same patriarchy arglebargle, but look at some of those fearsome goddesses of old. Look at the blood and moon-magic and powers of creation and destruction. Awesome stuff. </span><br /><br />SK: What are you working on/promoting currently? Why should folks check it out? <br /><span style="color: red;"><br /></span><span style="color: red;">CM: Currently-currently, I'm working on pretty much bupkus, recovering from cancer surgery and radiation treatments and a whole cavalcade of health adventures. But, once I can finally knock my brain back into shape, I have the first in a series of psychic detective novels to finish up and send off, and I'm working on (with <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Edward-Lee/e/B000APSYQW/">Ed Lee</a>'s permission!) a sequel to <a href="http://amzn.com/B00D6UZ0Q0/">LUCIFER'S LOTTERY</a>, and have two other extreme horror novels lined up. Plus, of course, there are always the anthology calls. I am a sucker for tempting themed anthology calls. As for promoting, the two biggies are <a href="http://wordhorde.com/books/the-ravens-table/">THE RAVEN'S TABLE</a>, my Viking collection from Word Horde, and the gooshy succubus book&nbsp;<a href="https://deaditepress.com/2017/08/15/spermjackers-from-hell-by-christine-morgan/">SPERMJACKERS FROM HELL</a>&nbsp;from <a href="http://deaditepress.com/">Deadite Press</a>. </span><br /><br /><h3>About <a href="https://deaditepress.com/2017/08/15/spermjackers-from-hell-by-christine-morgan/">SPERMJACKERS FROM HELL</a>:</h3><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Image result for christine morgan hell" src="https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1502854285l/36049310.jpg" /></div><br />Let’s summon a succubus, they said. It’ll be fun, they said…<br /><br />I have some friends and we had a crazy idea: let’s summon a demon. Not just any demon but a sexy devil chick that will do anything we want—even butt stuff. It’ll be easy. It’s not like it’s going to work. Monsters aren’t real.<br /><br />We were wrong. Really fucking wrong.<br /><br />The demon is not what we thought and it’s making horrible things happen. People are cutting into each other's junk, some guy is fucking his dog, and sex slugs from Hell are raping us and stealing our semen in order to build a goddamn hive!<br /><br />We didn’t mean for any of this. But we’re gonna fix it... Just after a few more beers and bong hits.<br /><br />From&nbsp;<a href="https://christinemariemorgan.wordpress.com/">Christine Morgan</a>, author of <a href="http://amzn.com/B01CPQZIEE/">MYTHIC LUST: THE MINOTAUR</a>, and&nbsp;<a href="http://wordhorde.com/books/the-ravens-table/">THE RAVEN'S TABLE: VIKING STORIES</a>, comes a sleazy and deviant satire about sex, occultism, and nerd culture.http://manuscriptsburn.blogspot.com/2018/02/women-in-horror-month-10-christine.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Stephen Kozeniewski)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7224206690870340098.post-1897331094298849297Wed, 21 Feb 2018 17:00:00 +00002018-02-21T13:09:24.772-05:00Women in Horror MonthWomen in Horror Month #9: Claire C. Riley, Author of ODIUM<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://womeninhorrormonth.com/"><img border="0" data-original-height="581" data-original-width="1600" height="145" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dYbskqPFYCo/Wmf5kb4FWJI/AAAAAAAAC7M/0HPwkOBkXy8Cn2ko42IaVQjXCqth10JRQCLcBGAs/s400/WiHM9-Black-vector.png" width="400" /></a></div><br /><i>Hey everybody!&nbsp; My favorite memory of today's guest comes from the first <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SummerZombie?src=hash">Summer of Zombie</a>, organized by our good friend Armand Rosamilia.&nbsp; I gather there must be another author with her same first and last name - hence she uses her middle initial as well.&nbsp; (This is pretty common in the writing field.)&nbsp; For some reason, every time Armand would release an updated list of participants, it would say just her first and last, so every time she would say, "Don't forget the C!&nbsp; I need the C!" and then Armand would promptly drop it again on the next revision.&nbsp; This finally culminated in Armand saying, "Oh, you'll get your C!"&nbsp; Eh, maybe you had to be there.&nbsp; In any case, it's been far too long to go without having her on the blog, so please allow me to introduce the very talented&nbsp;<a href="http://www.clairecriley.com/">Claire C. Riley</a>!&nbsp;&nbsp;</i><br /><i><br /></i><br /><h3>About <a href="http://clairecriley.com/">Claire C. Riley</a>:</h3><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://clairecriley.com/"><img border="0" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-DvEsEj6Mfpg/Wo2Ewr5BsPI/AAAAAAAAC8A/WDSSexZQbi8KfIAQcVcf3gDsNUTX-e-dwCK4BGAYYCw/s1600/author%2Bprofile.jpg" /></a></div><br /><a href="http://www.clairecriley.com/">Claire C. Riley</a> is a USA Today and international bestselling author. She is also a bestselling British horror writer and an Amazon Top 100 bestseller.<br /><br />Claire writes on the darker side of fiction, dipping her pen into genres such as post-apocalyptic, dystopia, thrillers, and even some horror. She writes characters that are realistic, and kills them without mercy.<br /><br />She also writes under the pen name of Cee Cee Riley, where she writes in the MC romance and post-apocalyptic romance genres.<br /><br />Claire lives in the United Kingdom with her husband and three daughters. She believes that cupcakes, rum and bathroom rap battles are the solution to most of life’s problems.<br /><br />Claire is represented by Michelle Johnson of Inklings Literary Agency.<br /><br />You can find her on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/ClaireCRileyAuthor">Facebook</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/ClaireCRiley">Twitter</a>, <a href="http://amzn.to/1GDpF3I">Amazon</a>, and <a href="http://www.clairecriley.com/">her website</a>.<br /><br />Author of:<br /><br /><a href="http://amzn.com/B00FLUTJ74">ODIUM</a>&nbsp;(DEAD SAGA Series - 5 part)<br /><a href="http://amzn.com/B0190XCHU8">ODIUM ORIGINS</a> Series - 3 part<br /><a href="http://amzn.com/B00BWUILDU">LIMERENCE</a> (The OBSESSION Series)<br /><a href="http://amzn.com/B01FPT6N92">OUT OF THE DARK</a> (LIGHT AND DARK Series)<br /><a href="http://amzn.com/B016LJBPP2">TWISTED MAGIC</a><br /><br />Co-authored books with Madeline Sheehan:<br /><br /><a href="http://amzn.com/B00S6QZXUM">THICKER THAN BLOOD</a><br /><a href="http://amzn.com/B013NZNED8">BENEATH THE BLOOD AND BONE</a><br /><a href="http://amzn.com/B00Z5MYYHS">SHUT UP AND KISS ME</a><br /><br />And by Cee Cee Riley:<br /><br />The <a href="http://amzn.com/B073C5JRSJ/">RIDE OR DIE: A DEVIL'S HIGHWAYMAN MC</a> Novel Series<br /><br />Coming soon!<br /><br />BLOOD CLAIM<br />ODIUM IV THE DEAD SAGA<br />BEAUTIFUL VICTIM<br />ODIUM 3.5<br />OUT OF THE DARK<br />The RED EYE series<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zniKN_bPiFE/Wo2OSZYs24I/AAAAAAAAC8Q/hGoK9Y87LQQolZ1_D_QpfBoHMSWvVNq0QCK4BGAYYCw/s1600/out%2Bof%2Bthe%2Bdark%2Bteaser.png" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zniKN_bPiFE/Wo2OSZYs24I/AAAAAAAAC8Q/hGoK9Y87LQQolZ1_D_QpfBoHMSWvVNq0QCK4BGAYYCw/s640/out%2Bof%2Bthe%2Bdark%2Bteaser.png" width="425" /></a></div><br /><h3>Interview:</h3><br />SK: How are you involved in the world of horror?<br /><br /><span style="color: red;">CCR:&nbsp; I’ve been writing in the zombie horror genre for several years now and have several bestselling series in it, including&nbsp;</span><a href="http://amzn.com/B00FLUTJ74">ODIUM</a><span style="color: red;">&nbsp;the DEAD SAGA&nbsp;and a co-authored series&nbsp;</span><a href="http://amzn.com/B00S6QZXUM">THICKER THAN BLOOD</a><span style="color: red;">. I’ve contributed to several horror themed charity anthologies too where I write some non-zombie themed horror stories. These books benefit survivors of PTSD, cancer research and more. I also have my first full length horror novel coming out around May time.</span><br /><br />SK: Who or what terrifies you?<br /><br /><span style="color: red;">CCR:&nbsp; I can’t tell you that or I’d have to kill you! But I will say that if it has eight legs and comes near me I’m not going to be happy…</span><br /><span style="color: red;"><br /></span><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xp0xNjGO9ng/WlV8lvthHCI/AAAAAAAAC5s/tndb2qf3rpYsPzoZ8E6bBqOeCaC2cr7HwCK4BGAYYCw/s1600/odium%2Bboost%2Bgraphic.png" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="208" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xp0xNjGO9ng/WlV8lvthHCI/AAAAAAAAC5s/tndb2qf3rpYsPzoZ8E6bBqOeCaC2cr7HwCK4BGAYYCw/s400/odium%2Bboost%2Bgraphic.png" width="400" /></a></div><div><br /></div>SK: Are there unique challenges to being a woman in horror or do you feel like gender is irrelevant?<br /><span style="color: red;"><br /></span><span style="color: red;">CCR:&nbsp; I think maybe at the start it was an issue, but other horror writers are very respectful of each other and being a woman in this industry isn’t as strange as it used to be. There are some amazing female authors out there now that are doing great things with moving the genre forwards, adapting it, and in turn adapting the reader into wanting something different.</span><br /><span style="color: red;"><br /></span><span style="color: red;">I feel very lucky that I’ve had the privilege of working with some great authors in this industry, both male and female.</span><br /><br />SK: Who are your favorite female horror icons?<br /><span style="color: red;"><br /></span><span style="color: red;">CCR:&nbsp; Growing up I used to watch the "Hellraiser" movies. They scared the shit out of me but I loved them. The Cenobite Princess used to freak me out because all I could think about was what if she shrugged and ripped the skin from her head! She stands out to me as a huge female horror icon. On the opposite end of the scale, at least in the form of appearance, Ms. Argentina from Beetlejuice kicked some serious ass too! Considering she had such a small amount of screen time, she made a huge impact on me.&nbsp; :)</span><br /><span style="color: red;"><br /></span><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-iDWcJor0cxU/WlV8jSoM1lI/AAAAAAAAC5k/Uhb1XefJ3WQWLJGNtCz_soEefkeDtg4TgCK4BGAYYCw/s1600/ODIUM%2BGRAPHIC%2BSERIES.jpeg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="146" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-iDWcJor0cxU/WlV8jSoM1lI/AAAAAAAAC5k/Uhb1XefJ3WQWLJGNtCz_soEefkeDtg4TgCK4BGAYYCw/s400/ODIUM%2BGRAPHIC%2BSERIES.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div><br />SK: What are you working on/promoting currently? Why should folks check it out?<br /><br /><span style="color: red;">CCR:&nbsp; I’m currently hard at work writing the sixth book in my ODIUM series - ODIUM VI The Dead Saga. I’m honoured that my readers took my heroine—who can be a grade A bitch at times—into their hearts so much. I get the biggest kick out of writing this series and developing the characters and storylines. I think I still manage to make the zompoc genre fresh and keep my readers on their toes!</span><br /><span style="color: red;"><br /></span><span style="color: red;">I’m also getting ready to promote my latest horror novel – BLOOD CLAIM. I’m seriously psyched about this project as I wrote it over 18 months ago but wasn’t sure if I’d ever publish it. Now seems the right time though and I can’t wait to share it with my readers. It’s about a group of gold miners who decide to go to Ghana in West Africa to dig for their fortune, only they find much more than they bargained for.</span><br /><br /><h3>About&nbsp;<a href="http://amzn.com/B00FLUTJ74">ODIUM</a>:</h3><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://amzn.com/B00FLUTJ74"><img alt="18486757" src="https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1379104276l/18486757.jpg" /></a></div><br />From USA Today Bestselling Author Claire C. Riley comes the first book in the intense &amp; deeply real post-apocalyptic series, ODIUM. Bringing life, love &amp; survival together for one thrilling read.<br /><br />Nina’s life was irrevocably changed when humanity’s dead began to rise.<br /><br />Now, she lives in the barricaded city, erected by the government to protect the remnants of civilization. However, they have become a brutal dictatorship- causing the inhabitants within to starve, steal and claw for survival. Life behind the walls has become as terrifying as roaming the zombie-ridden landscape beyond.<br /><br />Citizens trade what they can to gain food, water, and shelter. Nina has only one currency—her body and she is tired of submitting herself to the greedy hands of the self-proclaimed leaders.<br /><br />An opportunity to escape presents itself in the fate of a young girl named Emily-Rose. For the price of a stale piece of bread, she is set for banishment from the city, and most likely a horrific death at the hands of the deaders. Nina tells herself that it is sympathy and not self-preservation that makes her follow the young girl out of the walled metropolis, and into the overgrown world beyond.<br /><br />Unused to fighting the deaders, Nina tries to scrounge for her survival and against her better judgment, begins to care for Emily-Rose. However, when you have a bread-stealing liability providing your only back up, survival seems even tougher. Nina is forced to fight for their lives, and with every zombie slain, she becomes fiercer, faster – a grim reaper with her not-so-sharp butcher’s knife.<br /><br />Along the path to a safe-haven that might not exist, Nina and Emily-Rose meet Mikey who introduces them to a new life they could not imagine, a life above the ground. However, this new world brings new dangers, and darker shadows than she knew.<br /><br />Nina finds out that the deaders aren’t the only thing to fear beyond the wall.<br /><br />And that fear will not be ignored, or Forgotten.http://manuscriptsburn.blogspot.com/2018/02/women-in-horror-month-9-claire-c-riley.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Stephen Kozeniewski)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7224206690870340098.post-469528182769605027Mon, 19 Feb 2018 17:00:00 +00002018-02-21T09:25:13.813-05:00Women in Horror MonthWomen in Horror Month #8: Suzanne Robb, Author of BY MIDNIGHT<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://womeninhorrormonth.com/"><img border="0" data-original-height="581" data-original-width="1600" height="145" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dYbskqPFYCo/Wmf5kb4FWJI/AAAAAAAAC7M/0HPwkOBkXy8Cn2ko42IaVQjXCqth10JRQCLcBGAs/s400/WiHM9-Black-vector.png" width="400" /></a></div><br /><i>Hello, all, and welcome back!&nbsp; I've known today's guest for several years, and I was ashamed to realize I hadn't yet had her on the blog.&nbsp; Well, today we'll unfuck that.&nbsp; I'm very pleased to introduce the talented Lego-enthusiast and author&nbsp;</i><a href="https://suzannerobb.com/"><i>Suzanne Robb</i></a><i>!&nbsp; Let's meet her briefly then jump right into the interview.</i><br /><br /><h3>About <a href="https://suzannerobb.com/">Suzanne Robb</a>:</h3><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://suzannerobb.com/"><img height="400" src="https://scontent-sea1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-1/p200x200/13263714_1033449403414042_2761718146019737196_n.jpg?oh=a8145a35eb4d9761b14d0945d74fd1e5&amp;oe=5AB47CA8" width="400" /></a></div><br /><a href="https://suzannerobb.com/">Suzanne Robb</a> is the author of&nbsp;<a href="http://amzn.com/B01M13ZFWP/">DEAD BY MIDNIGHT</a>, <a href="http://amzn.com/B074FTNWPX/">APOCALYPSE BY MIDNIGHT</a>, the <a href="http://amzn.com/B00IZO08OG/">Z-BOAT</a> trilogy published by <a href="http://permutedpress.com/">Permuted Press</a>, and <a href="http://amzn.com/B00KAB1SQY/">CONTAMINATED</a> published by <a href="http://severedpress.com/">Severed Press</a>. She is an Active member of the ITW. In her free time she reads, watches movies, plays with her dog, and enjoys chocolate and LEGOs.<br /><br />You can find her on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/Suzanne-Robb-LEGO-Lover-and-sometimes-writer-153456314746693/?ref=bookmarks">Facebook</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/srobbwriting">Twitter</a>, and <a href="https://suzannerobb.com/">her website</a>.<br /><br /><h3>Interview:</h3><br />SK: How are you involved in the world of horror?<br /><skozeniewski yahoo.com=""><span style="color: red;"><br />SR:&nbsp; Right now, I am involved in the world of horror via the books I have written, and to some extent the ones I write now. I also try to keep up with the books my friends put out and, of course, watch movies.</span><br /><br />SK: Who or what terrifies you? <br /><span style="color: red;"><br />SR:&nbsp; That's tough. All the usual things scare me: dentist, zombies in real life, 80's hairstyles, and expired yogurt. But, what really gets me is sharks, scare the crap out of me. Oh yeah, and world leaders joking about nuclear arsenals puts me on edge.</span><br /><br />SK: Are there unique challenges to being a woman in horror or do you feel like gender is irrelevant?<br /><span style="color: red;"><br />SR:&nbsp; A few years back, I was asked this question. Sadly, my answer is still the same. I see so many challenges for women in horror. Grab an anthology and look at the names in the table of contents, mostly if not all men. Men's books tend to be promoted a lot more heavily than women's are, and are more predominant. And still, there are men that get upset we even have a women in horror month. I think that until we get to a time where women are recognized more often and people do not have to wrack their brains for the name of a female writer they like, Women in Horror Month is a must. </span><br /><br />SK: Who are your favorite female horror icons?<br /><span style="color: red;"><br />Icons? Tough, again, I am assuming you are speaking writing wise. I love <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Angela-Carter/e/B000APF7OY/">Angela Carter</a>,</span><span style="background-color: white; color: red; font-family: &quot;arial&quot; , &quot;tahoma&quot; , &quot;helvetica&quot; , &quot;freesans&quot; , sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;">&nbsp;</span><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Shirley-Jackson/e/B000AQ3IYE/" style="background-color: white; color: #5dc2c0; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;">Shirley Jackson</a><span style="color: red;">, <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Patricia-Highsmith/e/B000AQ0WKW/">Patricia Highsmith</a>, and&nbsp;</span><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Joyce-Carol-Oates/e/B000APT3DK/" style="background-color: white; color: #5dc2c0; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;">Joyce Carol Oates</a><span style="color: red;">.</span></skozeniewski><br /><skozeniewski yahoo.com=""><span style="color: red;"><br />Their story telling is amazing. Of course, I have to mention a couple of friends as well here - <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Emma-Ennis/e/B004HDT2MS/r">Emma Ennis</a>, an Irish writer than has a knack for sucking you into a story within the first few paragraphs. <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Nancy-Holder/e/B000AP78X2/">Nancy Holder</a> who is just awesome on every level. </span><br /><br />SK: What are you working on/promoting currently? Why should folks check it out? <br /><span style="color: red;"><br />SR:&nbsp; Currently, I am working on an urban fantasy/paranormal/humor/horror mash-up series. The series name is BY MIDNIGHT, and the books are titled&nbsp;</span><a href="http://amzn.com/B01M13ZFWP/">DEAD BY MIDNIGHT</a><span style="color: red;">&nbsp;and <a href="http://amzn.com/B074FTNWPX/">APOCALYPSE BY MIDNIGHT</a>. Book 3 comes out later this year. They cover most of the bases writing wise and are a lot of fun. I flip mythology over and do a what if scenario when it comes to werewolves in the first book. I think people should check it out only if they want something a bit quirky and not the standard fare when it comes to mythology. And of course if people like a good laugh.</span></skozeniewski><br /><skozeniewski yahoo.com=""><br /></skozeniewski><skozeniewski yahoo.com="">About <a href="http://amzn.com/B01M13ZFWP/">DEAD BY MIDNIGHT</a>:</skozeniewski><br /><skozeniewski yahoo.com=""><br /></skozeniewski><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://amzn.com/B01M13ZFWP/"><img alt="32062821" src="https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1474480333l/32062821.jpg" /></a></div><br />What happens when you bite a wolf back on the night of the full moon?<br /><br />After Zach Harris is attacked by a wolf, the most bizarre consequence isn't that the police suspect he's the serial killer… or that he's growing hair in funny places, wants to mark his territory and chase rabbits…not even that he's falling for Lucy Lane, a tenacious reporter who can expose his secret. What is truly strange is the wolf who bit him now turns into a man during the full moon.<br /><br />Sucked into a murder investigation, Zach races against the clock while the Moonlight Killer taunts the police. As the pickled body parts pile up and one of Logansville’s finest goes missing, Zach forms a strange alliance to avoid life in prison orange, catch the real murderer, and try to save the woman he loves.<br /><br />“Suzanne Robb is a natural storyteller. With Dead by Midnight, she has developed into the kind of writer whose work, in all of its addictive glory, will be called “effortless,” Pat Shand (Robyn Hood)http://manuscriptsburn.blogspot.com/2018/02/women-in-horror-month-8-suzanne-robb.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Stephen Kozeniewski)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7224206690870340098.post-5505711734986018356Fri, 16 Feb 2018 17:00:00 +00002018-02-16T12:00:13.190-05:00Women in Horror MonthWomen in Horror Month #7: Damien Angelica Walters, Author of CRY YOUR WAY HOME<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://womeninhorrormonth.com/"><img border="0" data-original-height="581" data-original-width="1600" height="145" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dYbskqPFYCo/Wmf5kb4FWJI/AAAAAAAAC7M/0HPwkOBkXy8Cn2ko42IaVQjXCqth10JRQCLcBGAs/s400/WiHM9-Black-vector.png" width="400" /></a></div><br /><i>Hey everybody!&nbsp; I'm not sure how, but I somehow managed to finagle today's guest into coming on the blog, and she absolutely did not disappoint with a no-holds barred interview.&nbsp; So today I'm pleased to bring you the legendary&nbsp;<a href="http://www.damienangelicawalters.com/">Damien Angelica Walters</a>!</i><br /><i><br /></i><h3>About <a href="http://www.damienangelicawalters.com/">Damien Angelica Walters</a>:</h3><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.damienangelicawalters.com/"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1299" height="640" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-PW2hHAvb2JE/WlPIEvCn9yI/AAAAAAAAC44/oORmh3zHfyYlGaB7yvBBgMbklZJBLOE5ACLcBGAs/s640/Damien%2BAngelica%2BWalters%2B-%2B2017%2BAuthor%2BPhoto%2B%25281%2529.jpg" width="519" /></a></div><div><br /></div><a href="http://www.damienangelicawalters.com/">Damien Angelica Walters</a> is the author of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.apexbookcompany.com/products/cry-your-way-home-preorder?variant=2339285696538">CRY YOUR WAY HOME</a>, <a href="http://amzn.com/B01CXL7VTG/">PAPER TIGERS</a>, and <a href="http://amzn.com/B00STTTEWY/">SING ME YOUR SCARS</a>, winner of <a href="http://www.thisishorror.co.uk/">This is Horror</a>’s Short Story Collection of the Year. Her short fiction has been nominated twice for a Bram Stoker Award, reprinted in <a href="http://amzn.com/B01HYH1DL6">THE YEAR'S BEST DARK FANTASY AND HORROR</a> and <a href="http://amzn.com/B0779BZ6Z8">THE YEAR'S BEST WEIRD FICTION</a>, and published in various anthologies and magazines, including the Shirley Jackson Award Finalists <a href="http://amzn.com/B01F7FZ9FS">AUTUMN CTHULHU</a> and <a href="http://amzn.com/B01N3Z1UGZ">THE MADNESS OF DR. CALIGARI</a>, World Fantasy Award Finalist <a href="http://amzn.com/B018WRJO7M">CASSILDA'S SONG</a>, "<a href="http://amzn.com/B00K1UNZ60/">Nightmare</a> <a href="http://amzn.com/B018S25C9U/">Magazine</a>," "<a href="http://amzn.com/B01FAPIJ98/">Black Static</a>," and "<a href="http://amzn.com/B00FJDE3Q0/">Apex Magazine</a>." Until the magazine’s closing in 2013, she was an Associate Editor of the Hugo Award-winning "<a href="https://www.facebook.com/Electric.Velocipede/">Electric Velocipede</a>." She can be found on the web at <a href="http://www.damienangelicawalters.com/">www.damienangelicawalters.com</a> and on <a href="http://twitter.com/@DamienAWalters">Twitter</a>.<br /><br /><h3>Interview:</h3><br />SK:&nbsp; How are you involved in the world of horror? <br /><span style="color: red;"><br /></span><span style="color: red;">DAW:&nbsp; I'm an author of short fiction and novels.</span><br /><br />SK: Who or what terrifies you?<br /><span style="color: red;"><br /></span><span style="color: red;">DAW:&nbsp; Many, many things, but right now, those currently in governmental power are more terrifying than anything else.</span><br /><span style="color: red;"><br /></span>SK: Are there unique challenges to being a woman in horror or do you feel like gender is irrelevant?<br /><span style="color: red;"><br /></span><span style="color: red;">DAW:&nbsp; I wish gender was irrelevant. I really do. I wish there wasn't a Women in Horror month. I hate it, honestly. There's a month where everyone talks about us, makes lists, and then boom. The other eleven months of the year we're pretty damn invisible. It's frustrating and never seems to change.</span><br /><span style="color: red;"><br /></span><span style="color: red;">Case in point: At the beginning of every year, when it comes time to list favorite stories or best novels or what have you from the year before, overwhelmingly, the lists are male and usually white. The "there aren't as many women writing horror" excuse doesn't work anymore. It really hammers home the idea of invisibility, and I feel like we could scream about this from the rooftops and nothing would change.</span><br /><span style="color: red;"><br /></span>SK: Who are your favorite female horror icons?<br /><span style="color: red;"><br /></span><span style="color: red;">DAW:&nbsp; And here's where I'm supposed to say <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Shirley-Jackson/e/B000AQ3IYE/">Shirley Jackson</a> and <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Mary-Wollstonecraft-Shelley/e/B00JLNLC7C/">Mary Shelley</a> and everyone nods and says, of course. Well, certainly, they go without saying, but there are so many women who've influenced horror with their words. Authors like <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Daphne-Du-Maurier/e/B000APKF3C/">Daphne Du Maurier</a>, <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Octavia-E.-Butler/e/B000AQ1SQE/">Octavia Butler</a>, <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Tananarive-Due/e/B000AQ1MR4/">Tananarive Due</a>, <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Joyce-Carol-Oates/e/B000APT3DK/">Joyce Carol Oates</a>, and <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Margaret-Atwood/e/B000AQTHI0/">Margaret Atwood</a>. <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Toni-Morrison/e/B000APT7NQ/">Toni Morrison</a>. <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Caitlin-R.-Kiernan/e/B000APHSM8">Caitlin R. Kiernan</a>. <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Susan-Hill/e/B001HD36KK/">Susan Hill</a>, <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Anne-Rice/e/B000APVMQ6/">Anne Rice</a>, <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Kathe-Koja/e/B001HCX2AA/">Kathe Koja</a>. Not to mention more modern authors who are quickly becoming icons, authors like <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Helen-Oyeyemi/e/B001IXQDBI/">Helen Oyeyemi</a>, <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Han-Kang/e/B00JOV97C8/">Han Kang</a>, <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Gemma-Files/e/B003A6EPGG/">Gemma Files</a>, <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Sarah-Langan/e/B0025U1606/">Sarah Langan</a>, <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Livia-Llewellyn/e/B00407XE3O/">Livia Llewellyn</a>, <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Lauren-Beukes/e/B001K8AAVA/">Lauren Beukes</a>, <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Priya-Sharma/e/B00K00W2H4/">Priya Sharma</a>, and I could go on and on and on. It's impossible to distill the list down to a few favorites because they're all writing amazing things.</span><br /><span style="color: red;"><br /></span><span style="color: red;">I think, perhaps, it might be easier to pick a few iconic works that everyone should read, so I'll specifically point out&nbsp;</span><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Margaret-Atwood/e/B000AQTHI0/">Margaret Atwood</a><span style="color: red;">'s <a href="http://amzn.com/B003JFJHTS/">THE HANDMAID'S TALE</a> and&nbsp;</span><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Toni-Morrison/e/B000APT7NQ/">Toni Morrison</a><span style="color: red;">'s <a href="https://www.blogger.com/"><span id="goog_684738902"></span>BELOVED<span id="goog_684738903"></span></a>. Honestly, everyone should have already read them, and while there have been debates as to whether or not they should be considered horror, I don't think that should be a question at all.</span><br /><span style="color: red;"><br /></span><span style="color: red;">And from an editorial standpoint, <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Ellen-Datlow/e/B000AQ4WJO/">Ellen Datlow</a> and <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Paula-Guran/e/B001JSDFZ4/">Paula Guran</a> have done wonders for the genre. I'm not even certain how many of their anthologies I have on my bookcases, but I've discovered most of my favorite short stories through them.</span><br /><span style="color: red;"><br /></span>SK: What are you working on/promoting currently? Why should folks check it out?<br /><span style="color: red;"><br /></span><span style="color: red;">DAW:&nbsp; My second short fiction collection,&nbsp;</span><a href="https://www.apexbookcompany.com/products/cry-your-way-home-preorder?variant=2339285696538">CRY YOUR WAY HOME</a><span style="color: red;">, was just released on January 2nd from <a href="http://apexbookcompany.com/">Apex Publications</a>. It contains seventeen stories originally published from 2014 through 2016 in a variety of magazines and anthologies and is available for purchase from all the usual haunts. Publishers Weekly gave it a starred review, saying "Short sharp shocks, finely developed settings, and eloquent prose make this collection a standout."</span><br /><br /><h3>About <a href="https://www.apexbookcompany.com/products/cry-your-way-home-preorder?variant=2339285696538">CRY YOUR WAY&nbsp;HOME</a>:</h3><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.apexbookcompany.com/products/cry-your-way-home-preorder?variant=2339285696538"><img alt="Cry Your Way Home" height="640" src="https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0000/7796/products/Cry-Your-Way-Home-Generic_776x.jpg?v=1507641285" width="420" /></a></div><br /><a href="https://www.apexbookcompany.com/products/cry-your-way-home-preorder?variant=2339285696538">CRY YOUR WAY HOME</a>&nbsp;brings together seventeen stories that delve deep into human sorrow and loss, weaving pain, fear, and resilience into beautiful tales that are sure to haunt you long after you turn the last page.<br /><br />"Once upon a time there was a monster. This is how they tell you the story starts. This is a lie."<br /><br />Sometimes things are not what they appear to be. DNA doesn't define us, gravity doesn't hold us, a home doesn't mean we belong. From circus tents to space stations, Damien Angelica Walters creates stories that are both achingly familiar and chillingly surreal. Within her second short story collection, she questions who the real monsters are, rips families apart and stitches them back together, and turns a cell phone into the sharpest of weapons.<br /><br />"Once upon a time there was a girl ..."<br /><br />Featuring the following works:<br />"Tooth, Tongue, and Claw"<br />"Deep Within the Marrow, Hidden in My Smile"<br />"On the Other Side of the Door, Everything Changes"<br />"This Is the Way I Die"<br />"The Hands That Hold, the Lies That Bind"<br />"Not My Circus, Not My Monkeys: The Elephant's Tale"<br />"The Judas Child"<br />"S Is for Soliloquy"<br />"The Floating Girls: A Documentary"<br />"Take a Walk in the Night, My Love"<br />"Falling Under, Through the Dark"<br />"The Serial Killer's Astronaut Daughter"<br />"Umbilicus"<br />"A Lie You Give, and Thus I Take"<br />"Little Girl Blue, Come Cry Your Way Home"<br />"Sugar and Spice and Everything Nice"<br />"In the Spaces Where You Once Lived"http://manuscriptsburn.blogspot.com/2018/02/women-in-horror-month-7-damien-angelica.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Stephen Kozeniewski)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7224206690870340098.post-3005929424193457120Wed, 14 Feb 2018 17:00:00 +00002018-02-14T12:00:22.248-05:00Women in Horror MonthWomen in Horror Month #6: Kelly A. Evans, Author of THE MORTECARNI<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://womeninhorrormonth.com/"><img border="0" data-original-height="581" data-original-width="1600" height="145" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dYbskqPFYCo/Wmf5kb4FWJI/AAAAAAAAC7M/0HPwkOBkXy8Cn2ko42IaVQjXCqth10JRQCLcBGAs/s400/WiHM9-Black-vector.png" width="400" /></a></div><br /><i>Hi all!&nbsp; Last year I got a comment right here on the blog, requesting to be a part of the WiHM interview series for 2017.&nbsp; Well, the commenter was a bit late for that - I usually have this whole thing planned out early in January.&nbsp; But I was happy to invite her back for 2018, and I'm pleased to introduce you all to today's guest, the talented&nbsp;</i><a href="http://www.kellyaevans.com/"><i>Kelly A. Evans</i></a><i>.&nbsp; Let's meet her briefly and then jump right into the interview.&nbsp; (Incidentally, if you ever want to be on the blog for any reason, my contact info is <a href="http://manuscriptsburn.blogspot.com/p/about-me.html">here</a>.)</i><br /><div class="MsoPlainText"><o:p></o:p></div><i><br /></i><h3>About <a href="http://www.kellyaevans.com/">Kelly A. Evans</a>:</h3><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.kellyaevans.com/"><img height="265" src="https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1448479575p8/14335541.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><a href="http://www.kellyaevans.com/">Kelly Evans</a> was born in Canada of Scottish extraction but moved to the UK after graduation where she worked in the financial sector. She returned after nearly 20 years away and now lives in Toronto with her husband and three rescue cats. Her horror stories have been published in numerous magazines and E-zines. She is also the author of The Northern Queen, an historic fiction taking place in Anglo Saxon England, and The Mortecarni, a medieval horror taking place during the Black Death.&nbsp; Kelly is currently working on the second book in the Mortecarni series.<br /><br />You can find her on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/kellyevansauthor/">Facebook</a>, <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Kelly-Evans/e/B0187JGTOQ/">Amazon</a>, and <a href="http://www.kellyaevans.com/">her website</a>.<br /><br /><h3>Interview:</h3><br />SK: How are you involved in the world of horror?<br /><br /><span style="color: red;">KAE:&nbsp; I'm not only a huge fan, particularly of the old black and white classic horrors and the 50s/60s giant-animals genre, I'm a writer of horror. My short stories have been published in both e-zines and paper magazines, and my first horror novel came out last year.</span><br /><br />SK: Who or what terrifies you?<br /><br /><span style="color: red;">KAE:&nbsp; Water! I'm terrified of the stuff, won't get in a boat unless I can see the shore, can't even look at pictures of underwater ships etc. Man, don't get me started on those horrifying Titanic images! And all of the creepy sea creatures, like aliens. Is that a fear, or a healthy respect? Hmm...</span><br /><br />SK: Are there unique challenges to being a woman in horror or do you feel like gender is irrelevant?<br /><br /><span style="color: red;">KAE:&nbsp; The horror market is absolutely dominated by men! Maybe because, in the early days of horror, thinking about, never mind writing about, dead bodies, beasties, creatures, death, etc etc, was NOT a very lady-like activity. Thankfully those days are gone but we're still very much playing catch up with the boys.</span><br /><br />SK: Who are your favorite female horror icons?<br /><br /><span style="color: red;">I'd have to say I enjoy reading about the history of Lady Bathory, as well as Delphine LaLaurie. In film, Sigourney Weaver, hands down.</span><br /><br />SK: What are you working on/promoting currently? Why should folks check it out?<br /><br /><span style="color: red;">I'm currently working on the second of my historic horror novels. But folks should absolutely check out the first, <a href="http://amzn.com/B06XKVMPTB/">THE MORTECARNI</a>. It takes place during the Black Death in England in 1348 (lots of research went into it to make it as historically accurate as possible!) There's a physician monk, some undead nuns, a 'witch', a mortecarni child, and, of course, lots plague! Fun for everyone!</span><br /><br /><h3>About&nbsp;<a href="http://amzn.com/B06XKVMPTB/">THE MORTECARNI</a>:</h3><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://amzn.com/B06XKVMPTB/"><img alt="34444617" src="https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1488497959l/34444617.jpg" /></a></div><br />THE YEAR IS 1348 AND THE BLACK DEATH IS RAVAGING ENGLAND. For Brother Maurice, a monk and physician, the disease is the most terrifying he’s ever seen. But Maurice soon learns of an even more deadly threat: the exanimate Mortecarni. After his first unexpected encounter with the creatures, Maurice is pulled into a world of savagery and secrecy. As he travels across the country, investigating both the plague and the Mortecarni, Maurice questions how such unholy suffering is possible. When his own family is struck down, his beliefs falter. Can he regain his faith and save both England and himself?http://manuscriptsburn.blogspot.com/2018/02/women-in-horror-month-6-kelly-evans.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Stephen Kozeniewski)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7224206690870340098.post-5165361709232372788Mon, 12 Feb 2018 17:00:00 +00002018-02-14T12:00:48.971-05:00Women in Horror MonthWomen in Horror Month #5: Pippa Bailey, Author of LUX<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://womeninhorrormonth.com/"><img border="0" data-original-height="581" data-original-width="1600" height="145" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dYbskqPFYCo/Wmf5kb4FWJI/AAAAAAAAC7M/0HPwkOBkXy8Cn2ko42IaVQjXCqth10JRQCLcBGAs/s400/WiHM9-Black-vector.png" width="400" /></a></div><br /><i>Welcome back, everybody!&nbsp; I'm very pleased to introduce you to one of the most fun, funny, sarcastic people I've gotten to know on Facebook over the past few years:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.pippabailey.co.uk/">Pippa Bailey</a>!&nbsp; Let's meet her briefly then jump right into the interview.</i><br /><br /><h3>About <a href="http://www.pippabailey.co.uk/">Pippa Bailey</a>:</h3><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.pippabailey.co.uk/"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-74jIqS8cdzE/WlAe-4FBQZI/AAAAAAAAC3w/CVaqCahoF2IC6ZGnSXr2DRvmcbalo2GwACK4BGAYYCw/s400/Head%2BShot.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><a href="http://www.pippabailey.co.uk/">Pippa Bailey</a> lives in rural Shropshire, England. Principally a horror writer, independent reviewer, and YouTube personality, her supernatural, and sci-fi stories have featured in several anthologies, and zines. She is known for her ‘question of the day’ on social media, where she asks authors probing or just plain scary questions. Her debut novel LUX is due for release summer 2018.<br /><div><br /></div>You can find her on&nbsp;<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Pippa-Bailey/e/B071W8DLDH/">Amazon</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/Pippa__Bailey">Twitter</a>, and <a href="http://pippabailey.co.uk/">her website</a>.<br /><br /><h3>Interview:</h3><span style="color: red;"><br /></span>SK: How are you involved in the world of horror?<br /><br /><span style="color: red;">PB:&nbsp; I have been writing horror for about three years, and published for just over a year in several anthologies. My first novel LUX is due for release this summer (when I am finally happy with it).</span><br /><span style="color: red;">I also run an independent review company <a href="http://www.youtube.com/ghoulguides">The Ghoul Guides</a>&nbsp;which has been going almost two years, working with horror, sci-fi and alternative creators. All our reviews are video ones and can be found on <a href="http://www.youtube.com/ghoulguides">the YouTube channel</a>.</span><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://amzn.com/B071J37MNL/"><img border="0" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-nYVyuS4Do0o/WlAe_nZrRtI/AAAAAAAAC4E/4KF3PZF0mtIeGZDM6ipg5T5LurjIbtQPgCK4BGAYYCw/s400/Hymn.jpg" /></a></div><br />SK:&nbsp; Who or what terrifies you?<br /><br /><span style="color: red;">PB:&nbsp; I suffer from a phobia called thanatophobia, it’s not a particularly common phobia but it is something I sometimes struggle with. It’s a crippling fear of death. Not how I die or why I die, but the concept of no longer existing. I happily write about death and decay. I struggle with things about nihilism and physics. I can’t watch things about space and time without feeling incredibly nervous. So, I tend to try and avoid them. I’ve been medicated for it in the past, as it has been totally crippling at times.</span><br /><br />SK: Are there unique challenges to being a woman in horror, or do you feel like gender is irrelevant?<br /><br /><span style="color: red;">PB:&nbsp; I do think there are challenges to being a female author, let alone working in horror. It’s harder to get noticed, and there is an automatic assumption that our writing will be less gritty or hard hitting because we are the “softer sex”, which I hate. We have to fight for every word to be recognised. I am proud to be part of the community, and the support I have been offered has been invaluable.</span><br /><span style="color: red;">I wish I could say gender is irrelevant, but at the moment it’s still a major issue in most industries.</span><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://pippabailey.co.uk/"><img border="0" height="313" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6DgKHRbrtWw/WlAe_TwKXqI/AAAAAAAAC38/scuW7BdhHycf7btWznYpWQ4TymBYR0GnwCK4BGAYYCw/s400/IMG_2201.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />SK: Who are your favorite female horror icons?<br /><br /><span style="color: red;">PB:&nbsp; Oh gosh that’s a hard question, I’d have to say I’d be looking at indie creators. Rather than looking at the big names, I draw my inspiration from the people I work with or look up to such as author Mercedes Yardley and artist Katie Whittle. They are fantastic women working in the horror industry, incredibly talented and I wish more people knew about them.</span><br /><span style="color: red;"><br /></span><span style="color: red;">I don’t really look up to film stars as such, but I must say I love Winona Rider a hell of a lot more since her portrayal as Joyce Byers in "Stranger Things," which I am absolutely addicted to.</span><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://amzn.com/B077XF4543/"><img border="0" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-eWkIXO7fT_s/WlAe-_L7B1I/AAAAAAAAC30/vF_LaJpz_LYYoa6BsYPnSLwQvSRUgPFZQCK4BGAYYCw/s1600/51O3iTyJbCL._SY346_.jpg" /></a></div><br />SK: What are you working on/promoting currently? Why should folks check it out?<br /><br /><span style="color: red;">I am currently working on my debut novel LUX which should be out later this summer, but you can find my works on <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Pippa-Bailey/e/B071W8DLDH/">Amazon</a>. Later this year I’ll be featured in an anthology of horror drabbles (100 word stories) with authors such as <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Richard-Chizmar/e/B00MZFCIBC/">Richard Chizmar</a> (<a href="http://amzn.com/B074F2F92F/">GWENDY'S BUTTON BOX</a>&nbsp;with <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Stephen-King/e/B000AQ0842/">Stephen King</a>), <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Lisa-Morton/e/B001JRZ8NC/">Lisa Morton</a> (<a href="http://horror.org/">Horror Writers Association</a>) and <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Michael-Bray/e/B009GH9XCO/">Michael Bray</a> (author and screenwriter – film “Monster” currently being filmed).&nbsp;&nbsp;</span> (SK: This interview was conducted a few weeks before posting. It's available <a href="http://amzn.com/B079DXWWGC/">now</a>!)<br /><span style="color: red;"><br /></span><span style="color: red;">2018 is set to be a busy year and I can’t wait to see how it progresses.</span><br /><br /><h3>About <a href="http://amzn.com/B0764H1T2P/">SPARKS</a>:</h3><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://amzn.com/B0764H1T2P/"><img border="0" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-YzFX8OES9CY/WlAe-1aZ1rI/AAAAAAAAC3s/9RPyz52G-ZE4v4LZRwLWllY3jtOlJLllgCK4BGAYYCw/s1600/sparks.jpg" /></a></div><br />This is a public service announcement on behalf of Burdizzo Books.<br /><div><br />Ghosts in the machine? Killer currents? Demonic disturbances?&nbsp;</div><div><br />Then you need Sparks!&nbsp;</div><div><br />Keep your family safe from bulbs and batteries that go bump in the night by reading Sparks. 15 electrifying tales of horror, sci-fi, bizarro and fantasy. Visit post-apocalyptic nightmare worlds, listen to recordings of the dead, feel the friction of electric lady love and be struck by lightning from the past.&nbsp;</div><div><br />Plug in, turn on, tune in and get buzzed.&nbsp;</div><div><br />Sparks – it’s alive! </div>http://manuscriptsburn.blogspot.com/2018/02/women-in-horror-month-5-pippa-bailey.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Stephen Kozeniewski)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7224206690870340098.post-1430817501765099991Fri, 09 Feb 2018 17:00:00 +00002018-02-09T12:00:04.270-05:00Women in Horror MonthWomen in Horror Month #4: S.L. Perrine, The Witch Writer<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://womeninhorrormonth.com/"><img border="0" data-original-height="581" data-original-width="1600" height="145" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dYbskqPFYCo/Wmf5kb4FWJI/AAAAAAAAC7M/0HPwkOBkXy8Cn2ko42IaVQjXCqth10JRQCLcBGAs/s400/WiHM9-Black-vector.png" width="400" /></a></div><br /><i>Hey all!&nbsp; I've known today's guest for years and interacted with her regularly on social media, so it occurs to me she's long overdue to stop by the blog.&nbsp; Let's meet the talented author of horror and fantasy&nbsp;<a href="http://www.slperrine.com/">S.L. Perrine</a>, then jump right into the interview!</i><br /><br /><h3>About <a href="http://www.slperrine.com/">S.L. Perrine</a>:</h3><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.slperrine.com/"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="960" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8FT-Zmep0PE/Wk_X2UZiosI/AAAAAAAAC3I/XUYMAL2SRuEaAKiAPk1uvtFZylljs-44QCLcBGAs/s400/26165447_10204045463252305_3994068468780590809_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><br /><a href="http://www.slperrine.com/">S.L. Perrine</a>&nbsp;is a wife to a mechanic and mother of four crazy teenagers (3 are boys) who eat her out of house and home. While raising her children, she has obtained three degrees; Associates in Art and Criminal Justice is among them. She now works to feed this bunch as a Registered Medical Assistant in a private physician's office in the city she currently resides. She is a native of Schenectady and Saratoga Springs, New York, having spent equal time growing up in both cities.<br /><br />She writes fantasy, romance, and horror, and is known as being 'The Witch Writer,' because of her series <a href="http://amzn.com/B07547X8MF">THE CRAWFORD WITCH CHRONICLES</a>.<br /><br />You can find her on&nbsp;<a href="https://www.facebook.com/slperrine/">Facebook</a>, <a href="http://www.slperrine.com/">her website</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.instagram.com/sl_perrine/">Instagram</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/PerrineShannon">Twitter</a>, and&nbsp;<a href="http://smarturl.it/Amazon_slperrine">Amazon</a>.<div><br /><h3>Interview:</h3><br />SK: How are you involved in the world of horror?<br /><br /><span style="color: red;">SLP:&nbsp; I have two short stories in horror anthologies. <a href="http://amzn.com/B01MXZDRLP/">CROSSROADS IN THE DARK II</a>&nbsp;&amp; <a href="http://amzn.com/B075YVJB2W/">III</a>&nbsp;from <a href="https://www.burningwillowpressllc.com/">Burning Willow Press, LLC</a>. I’ve been writing a continuation of the story "Dream Sequence" from&nbsp;<a href="http://amzn.com/B01MXZDRLP/">CROSSROADS II</a>, but it seems to have gone stale. I have recently finished and signed a vampire series with <a href="https://www.hotinkbooks.com/">Hot Ink Press</a>. It could be considered horror.</span><br /><br />SK:&nbsp; Who or what terrifies you?<br /><br /><span style="color: red;">SLP:&nbsp; The idea of death. I didn’t ever latch on to any particular belief of an after-life. When I think of my death I picture a black void where my subconscious will reside for all eternity. It’s going to be boring as hell.</span><br /><br />SK:&nbsp; Are there unique challenges to being a woman in horror or do you feel like gender is irrelevant?<br /><br /><span style="color: red;">SLP:&nbsp; I don’t see gender when I think of genre. Maybe there are a few souls out there who think only men are capable of coming up with things that will truly make someone quake. However, we’ve given birth. We know what real pain is and how to describe it in full detail. Women have set a new precedent for sure. I think over time initials will disappear again. Women will be seen as the truly horrific creatures that we are, and all will be right with the world. Until then, I’ll just keep writing. I don’t find I have any challenges, except that it may take someone looking at my books for other reasons before they realize there is a definite fear factor in them.</span><br /><br />SK:&nbsp; Who are your favorite female horror icons?<br /><br /><span style="color: red;">SLP:&nbsp; Believe it or not I don’t have any. I don’t read horror. When I do I have nightmares, but I can write it all day. I don’t watch horror movies either, or at least I try not to.</span><br /><br />SK: What are you working on/promoting currently? Why should folks check it out?<br /><br /><span style="color: red;">SLP:&nbsp; I’m releasing book II in the BLOOD RITES trilogy,&nbsp;</span><a href="http://amzn.com/B0797F75Y9/">TURNING THE STONE</a>&nbsp;<span style="color: red;">on January 26th.&nbsp;</span>(SK: This interview was conducted a few weeks before posting. It's available now!) <span style="color: red;">It’s a paranormal fiction with a bit of horror hidden inside. One scene describes a mother having her child cut from her, but not willingly. It’s horrific to say the least.</span><br /><span style="color: red;"><br /></span><span style="color: red;">My next release will be the first in my vampire series. THE DARKER SIDE OF ME will debut in March.</span><br /><br /><h3>About <a href="http://amzn.com/B0797F75Y9/">TURNING THE STONE</a>:</h3><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://amzn.com/B0797F75Y9/"><img border="0" data-original-height="1068" data-original-width="1600" height="265" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6BTXe2t6ttI/Wk_X4Yy05_I/AAAAAAAAC3M/fPFEdJsbkLU7kyt2o-gxRmjGXR-zd2SAgCLcBGAs/s400/bloodrites.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />"Love Cares Little for Names and War"<br /><br />In 1868, Seraphina Crawford created a safe world for witches to grow and live without fear. Her immortal magic was transferred into a ring, so that she may grow older and wiser to become the matriarch of a long line of High Priestesses. Though in her early twenties, she took the power back, living an unnaturally long life until she’d given it up for good. However, the next in line for her powers would not be able to access the magic within the ring. There was a failsafe. Only when the right Crawford witch was in need of it, the ring would open.<br /><br />The year is now 1996. Gwendolyn Crawford is preparing to take the powers of her family. To become the high priestess of the coven of The Silver Shadows. She was eager to help the covens heal the rift between them. Little did she know the way to heal such a rift was to right the wrongs of her ancestor and risk her heart and her life.</div><div><br />Silas Sigmis Jr., the high priest of The Black Willow was only following orders given to him by his father. He hadn’t thought of what the consequences of his actions would be until he came face to face with the Crawford girl. Her long raven hair and sapphire eyes caught him off guard as much as her power.</div><div><br />Two people who should have been at odds with each other will soon find they are each other’s only allies. Even amongst their own families.<br /><br />This book can be read as a standalone but is the second installment of the BLOOD RITES trilogy.</div><div><br />Start the series today with Book 1&nbsp;<a href="http://smarturl.it/BloodRites">BLOOD RITES</a>.</div>http://manuscriptsburn.blogspot.com/2018/02/women-in-horror-month-4-sl-perrine.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Stephen Kozeniewski)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7224206690870340098.post-7951210441338799939Wed, 07 Feb 2018 17:00:00 +00002018-02-07T12:00:05.185-05:00Women in Horror MonthWomen in Horror Month #3: Jennifer Loring, author of "All in the Family"<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://womeninhorrormonth.com/"><img border="0" data-original-height="581" data-original-width="1600" height="145" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dYbskqPFYCo/Wmf5kb4FWJI/AAAAAAAAC7M/0HPwkOBkXy8Cn2ko42IaVQjXCqth10JRQCLcBGAs/s400/WiHM9-Black-vector.png" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><i>I first met today's guest when we crossed paths at one of my publishers...then again at another publisher (that didn't pan out).&nbsp; Then her name kept cropping up again and again in my feed and I knew I wanted to invite her on the blog.&nbsp; (Plus I never pass up the chance to talk to a fellow Philadelphian.)&nbsp; Let's meet the incredibly talented <a href="http://jennifertloring.com/">Jennifer Loring</a>, then jump right into the interview.</i><br /><br /><h3>About <a href="http://jennifertloring.com/">Jennifer Loring</a>:</h3><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://jennifertloring.com/"><img border="0" data-original-height="730" data-original-width="730" height="400" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-QsnqDmksU1k/Wk_RocfKTFI/AAAAAAAAC24/Icr5fO6j_zcYr_s--dQA0pu7IyEBTcmeACLcBGAs/s400/17903739_10154216282647003_6893584409790681478_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><br /><a href="http://jennifertloring.com/">Jennifer Loring</a> has been, among other things, a DJ, an insurance claims assistant, and an editor. Her short fiction has been published widely both online and in print; she has worked with <a href="http://www.crystallakepub.com/">Crystal Lake Publishing</a>, DarkFuse, and <a href="http://www.crowdedquarantine.co.uk/">Crowded Quarantine</a>, among many others. Longer work includes the novel <a href="http://amzn.com/B00WTZCMU0/">THOSE OF MY KIND</a>, published by <a href="http://www.omniumgatherumbooks.com/">Omnium Gatherum</a>. She holds an MFA in Writing Popular Fiction from Seton Hill University with a concentration in horror fiction and teaches online in SNHU’s College of Continuing Education. Jenn lives in Philadelphia, PA with her husband, their turtle, and two basset hounds.<br /><br />You can find her on <a href="http://jennifertloring.com/">her website</a>, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/JenniferTLoring">Facebook</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/JenniferTLoring">Twitter</a>, <a href="https://www.instagram.com/jennifer_loring">Instagram</a>, <a href="https://www.pinterest.com/jennifertloring">Pinterest</a>, and <a href="https://www.amazon.com/author/jenniferloring">Amazon</a>.<br /><br /><h3>Interview:</h3><br />SK: How are you involved in the world of horror?<br /><br /><span style="color: #cc0000;">JL:&nbsp; I was first published in the genre twenty years ago and have put out short horror fiction pretty regularly since then, plus a novel and a novella. I've always been a huge fan--I can remember watching horror movies as early as four years old, and I started writing at 11. My MFA in Writing Popular Fiction comes with a concentration in horror; I enjoy exploring it from an academic perspective as well and will be presenting a paper on extreme horror at <a href="http://stokercon2018.org/">StokerCon</a>'s <a href="http://stokercon2018.org/the-convention/ann-radcliffe-academic-conference/">Ann Radcliffe Academic Conference</a>. I've been a member of the <a href="http://horror.org/">HWA</a> off and on for a number of years.</span><br /><br />SK: Who or what terrifies you?<br /><br /><span style="color: #cc0000;">JL:&nbsp; Aside from Trump? ;D Honestly, anything that would prevent me from writing--sight loss, dementia, that kind of thing. Loss of autonomy and being immobilized, which are forms of claustrophobia.</span><br /><br />SK: Are there unique challenges to being a woman in horror or do you feel like gender is irrelevant?<br /><br /><span style="color: #cc0000;">JL:&nbsp; It should be irrelevant--I think women have more than proven that they can write/direct horror as well as (and in many cases better than) men. Being genderfluid, I don't think about gender when I'm writing or submitting; I just produce the best work that I can and hope it finds its audience. I know there are editors and even readers out there who won't consider anything by a woman, but I feel more pity than anger for them. They're the ones missing out on great stories, so I hope they recognize that and allow themselves to see beyond gender.</span><br /><br />SK: Who are your favorite female horror icons?<br /><br /><span style="color: #cc0000;">JL:&nbsp; <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Shirley-Jackson/e/B000AQ3IYE/">Shirley Jackson</a>, <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Mary-Wollstonecraft-Shelley/e/B00JLNLC7C/">Mary Shelley</a>, <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Tanith-Lee/e/B000AQ2UYS/">Tanith Lee</a>, Drusilla from "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," Lucy Westenra from DRACULA, Pam from "True Blood," Karyn Kusama, <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Ellen-Datlow/e/B000AQ4WJO/">Ellen Datlow</a>, <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Stephanie-M.-Wytovich/e/B00DTKIN2K/">Stephanie M. Wytovich</a>, <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Charlotte-Perkins-Gilman/e/B000APAR0I/">Charlotte Perkins Gilman</a>, <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Livia-Llewellyn/e/B00407XE3O">Livia Llewellyn</a>, <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Maria-Tatar/e/B001IGQVXK/">Maria Tatar</a> for her examinations of the darkest aspects of folklore, <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Gillian-Flynn/e/B001JP3W46/">Gillian Flynn</a> (who is rarely considered a horror writer but who writes some truly horrific stuff--<a href="http://amzn.com/B000JMKTLO">SHARP OBJECTS</a>, anyone?)... I know I'm forgetting people, but it's a good start. :)</span><br /><br />SK:&nbsp; What are you working on/promoting currently? Why should folks check it out?<br /><br /><span style="color: #cc0000;">JL:&nbsp; My most recent short story publication is one I co-wrote with <a href="https://mikethornwrites.com/">Mike Thorn</a> called "All In the Family," which appears in the anthology&nbsp;</span><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Behind-Mask-Tales-Things-Well/dp/0994592280/">BEHIND THE MASK: TALES FROM THE ID</a><span style="color: #cc0000;">. It's my first collaboration, and <a href="https://mikethornwrites.com/">Mike</a> was a delight to work with. I'm in between major projects, but I have two novellas and a novel planned for this year, and of course, more short stories!</span><br /><br /><h3>About <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Behind-Mask-Tales-Things-Well/dp/0994592280/">BEHIND THE MASK</a>:</h3><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Behind-Mask-Tales-Things-Well/dp/0994592280/"><img alt="37829186" src="https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1515116768l/37829186.jpg" /></a></div><br />Come closer. Take off your mask. No, wait… leave it on. I’d like to see who you’re pretending to be, or who you think you are. There’ll be time enough to find out who you really are later… much later. Like when you’ve seduced me to your bed, or lured me to my death, or… but wait! You’re not planning any of those things, are you? Why, you’re just frightened; hiding behind that rubber skin for fear of being mocked or hassled; or to blend in. Well now, let’s peek at who you really are, shall we? Oh… Oh, it’s you?! But I thought – <br /><br />22 short stories with one common theme: masks. From the editor Steve Dillon: "But why masks? I’ve always been a lover of masks and have collected them and worn them for as long as I can recall. One of my school paintings was a self-portrait which, having completed it and deemed it too ugly, I painted a clown-mask over the top of it. Whether or not that resonates with readers of this introduction, I think it’s safe to suggest we all use masks of one sort or another, both to protect us from ourselves, as well as to prevent our detection by others, or project a different image of who we are. We hide behind them, gain strength and courage from them, deflect judgement with their use so we can ‘fit in,’ and so on. "For this anthology, I hoped for memorable, dark, frightening stories. Tales of psychological or supernatural horror with a mask of some sort that was central to the story. I’d originally thought of theatrical masks, or clowns such as Jimmy Stewart’s character Buttons in ‘The Greatest Show on Earth.’ But, of course, masks can also be devised using cosmetic surgery, whether that’s to hide behind, or for transformation, beautification or gender-identification. Masks are also used extensively in roleplay, acting, disguise, and as part of a concealment by religious or traditional costume. Without offering any spoilers here, this anthology contains great examples of each of the above types of masks, and some I hadn’t considered… enjoy! "http://manuscriptsburn.blogspot.com/2018/02/women-in-horror-month-3-jennifer-loring.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Stephen Kozeniewski)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7224206690870340098.post-4576654230755745850Mon, 05 Feb 2018 17:00:00 +00002018-02-05T12:00:19.280-05:00Women in Horror MonthWomen in Horror Month #2: Veronica Smith, The Mistress of Horror<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://womeninhorrormonth.com/"><img border="0" data-original-height="581" data-original-width="1600" height="145" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dYbskqPFYCo/Wmf5kb4FWJI/AAAAAAAAC7M/0HPwkOBkXy8Cn2ko42IaVQjXCqth10JRQCLcBGAs/s400/WiHM9-Black-vector.png" width="400" /></a></div><br /><i>Hey, everybody, thanks for stopping by!&nbsp; For the entire month of February, aka Women in Horror Month, I'll be interviewing some of the biggest, scariest established names and up-and-comers in the genre.&nbsp; Today I'm pleased to introduce author&nbsp;</i><a href="http://viewauthor.at/VeronicaSmith"><i>Veronica Smith</i></a><i>.&nbsp; Let's meet her briefly and then jump right into the interview.</i><br /><br /><h3>About <a href="http://viewauthor.at/VeronicaSmith">Veronica Smith</a>:</h3><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://viewauthor.at/VeronicaSmith"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1067" height="640" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-46MQZXOLltU/Wk6PuUXvPuI/AAAAAAAAC2E/OZcfRtR4r4w9RYraj09YOjstG7v8ztzWgCLcBGAs/s640/Me%2BStanding.jpg" width="425" /></a></div><br /><br /><a href="http://viewauthor.at/VeronicaSmith">Veronica Smith</a> once fancied herself the next <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Carolyn-Keene/e/B000APCY7W/">Carolyn Keene</a> when she was but a pre-teen. When she reached adulthood, she wanted to be the next <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Stephen-King/e/B000AQ0842/">Stephen King</a> or <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Anne-Rice/e/B000APVMQ6/">Anne Rice</a>. Now that she's older and wiser, she realizes it's better to want to be herself and morphed into The Mistress of Horror. Besides writing, she developed an obsession for all things horror, and even started many petitions to make Halloween a year-long holiday. Despite the support of several Senators and a retired US President, the bill was vetoed in the House. To her chagrin, Halloween still remains a one-day holiday only. But she decided to improvise, putting out her Halloween decorations in the yard at Christmastime as well. So far no one has had her arrested for it. She and her husband live in Katy, Texas with their son and several pets, including a small horse-sized mastiff.<br /><br />You can find her on&nbsp;<a href="http://viewauthor.at/VeronicaSmith">Amazon</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/-/e/B014JCZQT4">Amazon UK</a>,&nbsp;<a href="http://www.facebook.com/Veronica.Smith.Author">Facebook</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/Vee_L_Smith">Twitter</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/veronica-smith-author/">LinkedIn</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bookbub.com/authors/veronica-smith">BookBub</a>, and&nbsp;<a href="https://kvzsmithwordpresscom.wordpress.com/">her blog</a>.<br /><br /><h3>Interview:</h3><br />SK: How are you involved in the world of horror?<br /><br /><span style="color: #cc0000;">VS:&nbsp; I love horror! I read it, I watch it, I write it. Obviously my favorite holiday is Halloween. I have assorted dark trinkets (skelly hand, skeletons, skull goblet) along the top wall of my cubicle at work and I keep getting asked if I know Halloween is over yet. I keep telling them it’s a state of mind and it’s nonstop. Haha.</span><br /><span style="color: #cc0000;"><br /></span><span style="color: #cc0000;">I’ve been reading horror since I was young. I started with&nbsp;</span><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Stephen-King/e/B000AQ0842/">Stephen King</a><span style="color: #cc0000;">&nbsp;and branched out several years later. I discovered <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Richard-Laymon/e/B000AQ233Q/">Richard Laymon</a> and almost fainted when I realized I’d been missing out on his books for years. I spent a year buying and reading almost all his books. I read almost exclusively indie now. I’ve found that indie authors have so much to offer the world and have the most unique ideas. I love all types of horror: zombie, psychological, thriller, but my favorite is post apocalyptic. I know that genre is sometimes thrown in the SciFi mix but since SciFi and horror make wonder combinations, I think of it as horror.</span><br /><span style="color: #cc0000;"><br /></span><span style="color: #cc0000;">My husband and I like to binge watch the cop shows ("Criminal Minds," "CSI" -&nbsp; still a horror element to all those as well) but when it comes to movies I’ve got to have a horror movie. I love Netflix and have discovered a lot of little known gems. Good thing my husband loves horror movies just as much or we might have a fight over the remote. The only time I can’t watch horror with him is if it’s subtitled. He’s not crazy about foreign films but I love them. I still find time to watch them on my own.</span><br /><span style="color: #cc0000;"><br /></span><span style="color: #cc0000;">I’ve always loved to write and naturally with my love of horror, I prefer to write horror. I don’t write one particular type either. I write about zombies (my first novel, <a href="http://amzn.com/B01N6IBUF7/">SALVATION</a>, is a zombie post apoc based on a collectible card game called "Survive") and I’ve also had some short stories published in several zombie anthologies. I do love my psychological horror as well. And I have written several stories about real horror (car jacking, home invasion, etc). The realistic horror can be the scariest because you know those things can really happen. I’ve even begun some dark humor lately, something I’d never tried before but I loved it. I still write my monster, blood, and gore too. But if you don’t want anything quite that harsh I have a crime thriller with a hint of supernatural that I published a couple years ago; a novella titled&nbsp;</span>"<span style="color: #cc0000;"><a href="http://amzn.com/B015AL6A5M/">Chalk Outline</a>."</span><br /><span style="color: #cc0000;"><br /></span><span style="color: #cc0000;">I love writing and find that I can put anything down to paper if I feel like it. I just have to keep remembering to clean my browser history on my laptop once in a while.&nbsp; Haha.</span><br /><br />SK: Who or what terrifies you?<br /><br /><span style="color: #cc0000;">VS:&nbsp; I’m terrified by large bodies of water. I won’t go into the ocean past my knees; if I can’t see my feet I freak out. Lakes – same thing. But I can go into a river or a pool, weird I know. I have a deep fear of drowning but I have a larger fear of what’s in the water that I can’t see. I wrote a story called "Beneath the Floodwaters" once and I tried to put all my fears into it. In fact that story is based on a park in Houston that I drive by to and from work. It floods very easily (giving me the idea to write it) and had been closed for months from Hurricane Harvey flooding this past fall. I still get the creeps driving by even though it’s now cleaned up and reopened.</span><br /><span style="color: #cc0000;"><br /></span><span style="color: #cc0000;">People sometimes scare me. Their disregard for another life; I just can’t see that sometimes; especially when I see what some people do to children. I was held up at gun point when I was 15 and I can never forget that. But the unknown (yes, especially under the water) is still so much more scary.</span><br /><span style="color: #cc0000;"><br /></span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://viewauthor.at/VeronicaSmith" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-6lEN3thmFbg/Wk6PuiQ0KzI/AAAAAAAAC2I/6dm5S8rH5O4KWh_x1XqgUB0l8dE4_pQ1ACLcBGAs/s400/Bench.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><br />SK: Are there unique challenges to being a woman in horror or do you feel like gender is irrelevant?<br /><br /><span style="color: #cc0000;">VS:&nbsp; A good writer is a good writer, no matter the sex. When I want to read some extreme horror I open up some <a href="http://amzn.com/B003TT0O78/">Wrath James White</a> or <a href="http://amzn.com/B000AQ0Z5E/">Billie Sue Mossiman</a>. She is one of my favorite female horror writers. Her books and stories are amazing; I think I own every one of her books. One of my favorite gifts to get is Amazon cards and I usually use it up it as soon as I get it with books from all my favorite authors and new ones. I discover so many new authors and their books nowadays; I love it. One of my favorite things is when I discover some new book I’d never heard of; I read it and love it. Then find out it’s the first of a series and I have a dozen more to buy and binge read. Just thinking about that makes me wish for the weekend already. I used to go through so many books but since I have less time to read now I have a huge To Be Read folder on my Kindle. I will eventually get to all of them.</span><br /><br />SK: Who are your favorite female horror icons?<br /><br /><span style="color: #cc0000;">VS:&nbsp; Jamie Lee Curtis is my top favorite. I loved her in Halloween. I know she’s done a lot of other thing besides that but when I think of a scream queen, she’s always the first one I think of. I actually got to meet her at a book signing she was doing for her childrens' book series. She was a wonderfully sweet woman with a great sense of humor.</span><br /><span style="color: #cc0000;"><br /></span><span style="color: #cc0000;">Naomi Grossman is another of my favorites. She plays Pepper in "American Horror Story." Again, I’ve met her as well and she was so funny. In real life she loves to scare people and she does things I wish I dared do. I watched her do a video last Halloween of putting on a mask and scaring people in a Halloween store. She got in trouble but I was laughing my ass off. It was so funny.</span><br /><br />SK: What are you working on/promoting currently? Why should folks check it out?<br /><br /><span style="color: #cc0000;">VS:&nbsp; Since I’ve been writing short stories for several years I finally decided to put them all together into their own book. I’m going to publish my own collection. I still haven’t figured out a title for it yet, but hopefully I will have by the time this interview is published. The stories in this book will be ghost stories, slasher, psychological, monsters, thrillers, and yes, my dark humor will make its grand entrance (PEOPLE OF WAL-MART AND WHY WE'LL SURVIVE THE APOCALYPSE – catchy title huh?) There will be all elements in horror in this book. I even have a story unlike anything I’d ever done before. Wait for it … Clown Space Apocalypse. Yeah, I know, very unlike me. But I tried it and really got into it. In fact I think it’s one of my better stories. When you buy the book you’ll see it in there: "Rescue Mission of the Krikos." I’m mixing some of my old flash fiction in between each story. Mini bites of horror. I have four stories left to edit then I go over the whole thing one final time. Three times minimum for everything I write always. Hopefully it will be done, edited, and formatted within the next couple of months.</span><br /><span style="color: #cc0000;"><br /></span><span style="color: #cc0000;">I’m still a relatively new author. I only had my first story accepted into an anthology in 2014. But I’ve learned so much since I first started writing and expanded my ideas and the way I write. My short story, "<a href="http://amzn.com/B01N6TGX2G/">Last One in the Chamber</a>," I’m told, is a most unique story, a very Texan story. Haha. The idea for it literally came to me while I was shampooing my hair. This one will be in my collection as well. When I get a weird idea I just have to get it down. Sometimes I come up with ideas on my commute home from work; had to buy a small audio recorder for that. Nightmares also make great stories and I sleep with a pen and notepad next to my gun. haha</span><br /><span style="color: #cc0000;"><br /></span><span style="color: #cc0000;">So if you’re into horror of all kinds, you should check out the collection when it comes out. Please follow my&nbsp;</span><a href="http://viewauthor.at/VeronicaSmith">Amazon</a><span style="color: #cc0000;">&nbsp;and&nbsp;</span><a href="http://www.facebook.com/Veronica.Smith.Author">Facebook</a><span style="color: #cc0000;">&nbsp;author pages as I’ll be keeping them updated.</span><br /><br /><h3>About <a href="http://amzn.com/B01N6IBUF7/">SALVATION</a>:</h3><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cc0000;"><a href="http://amzn.com/B01N6IBUF7/"><img alt="33407538" height="640" src="https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1482031359l/33407538.jpg" width="417" /></a></span></div><br />18 years after the “Blistering Flu” decimated humanity and gave rise to the world of fear and sorrow that is now owned by the dead, the remnants of humanity continue to fight for their right to live.<br /><br />Regrettably, nothing has changed in the mentality of man. Very quickly people had separated into factions that declared war on each other. These petty wars did us no good. They detached us from what was rising in the wastelands... <br /><br />Will humanity be able to survive what is coming or will we continue to be assistants to our own destruction?http://manuscriptsburn.blogspot.com/2018/02/women-in-horror-month-2-veronica-smith.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Stephen Kozeniewski)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7224206690870340098.post-6456458436391646789Fri, 02 Feb 2018 17:00:00 +00002018-02-02T12:00:10.750-05:00Women in Horror MonthWomen in Horror Month #1: Suzanne Madron, Author of FOR SALE OR RENT<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://womeninhorrormonth.com/"><img border="0" data-original-height="581" data-original-width="1600" height="145" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dYbskqPFYCo/Wmf5kb4FWJI/AAAAAAAAC7M/0HPwkOBkXy8Cn2ko42IaVQjXCqth10JRQCLcBGAs/s400/WiHM9-Black-vector.png" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i>Hey everybody!&nbsp; Welcome to Women in Horror Month 9!&nbsp; Our inaugural post for this year's interview series is someone who I met at Scares That Care IV in 2017 when she gave a dramatic reading of <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/575168.Ralph_Bieber">Ralph Bieber</a>'s dramatic reading.&nbsp; I'm delighted to introduce to you a hugely prolific writer and fascinating person, <a href="http://suzi.typepad.com/weblog/2014/02/on-being-a-woman-who-writes-horror-and-an-open-letter-to-the-haters.html">Suzanne Madron</a>!&nbsp; Let's meet her briefly and then jump right into the interview.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><h3 style="clear: both; text-align: left;">About <a href="http://suzi.typepad.com/weblog/2014/02/on-being-a-woman-who-writes-horror-and-an-open-letter-to-the-haters.html">Suzanne Madron</a>:</h3><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Suzanne-Madron/e/B0143WAMGC/"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-fZENx0cudks/Wk2oj_qhjeI/AAAAAAAAC10/7T02UM1u-XcF-JT3uGTAMm_JZ5ImsIh4wCK4BGAYYCw/s400/971377_548522085209404_1420095583_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><a href="http://suzi.typepad.com/weblog/2014/02/on-being-a-woman-who-writes-horror-and-an-open-letter-to-the-haters.html">Suzanne Madron</a> was born in New York City and has lived up and down the east coast. Currently, she resides in a house built on a Civil War battlefield in the wilds of south-central Pennsylvania where she has been known to host some interesting Halloween parties.<br /><br />She has authored several novels and stories under various names including <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Suzi-M/e/B003TTLGP2/">Suzi M</a>, <a href="https://www.amazon.com/James-Glass/e/B009K6RSG4/">James Glass</a>, and <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Xircon-Z/e/B005N099QS/">Xircon</a>.<br /><br />You can find her on <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Suzanne-Madron/e/B0143WAMGC/">Amazon</a>, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/SuzanneMadron/">Facebook</a>, and <a href="https://twitter.com/SuzanneMadron">Twitter</a>.<br /><br /><h3>Interview:</h3><br />SK: How are you involved in the world of horror? <br /><br /><span style="color: red;">SM:&nbsp; I am a writer primarily, with background experience in film and art.</span><br /><br />SK: Who or what terrifies you? <br /><br /><span style="color: red;">SM:&nbsp; Clowns, though I'm getting better about that.</span><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Suzanne-Madron/e/B0143WAMGC/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="589" data-original-width="480" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-tyfz3VpbePw/WnR8yveumrI/AAAAAAAAC7w/f6kIMXlmL-Ep_f-IjcmYfRGYLVwP1ekSQCLcBGAs/s1600/1794579_646452078749737_1387294201_n.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">SK: Are there unique challenges to being a woman in horror or do you feel like gender is irrelevant?&nbsp;</div><br /><span style="color: red;">SM:&nbsp; There are definitely challenges, mostly the preconceived notion that women wouldn't know enough about "horror" to be able to successfully write horror. Meanwhile, we live in a society where women walk out the door with weaponized keyrings, ready for an attempted assault on a daily basis, knowing we're on our own to save ourselves should it arise - and statistics show us that it's not a matter of if but when it will happen.</span><br /><br />SK: Who are your favorite female horror icons? <br /><br /><span style="color: red;">SM:&nbsp; <a href="https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=dp_byline_sr_ebooks_1?ie=UTF8&amp;text=Ann+Radcliffe&amp;search-alias=digital-text&amp;field-author=Ann+Radcliffe&amp;sort=relevancerank">Ann Radcliffe</a>, Bette Davis, Sigourney Weaver, Lily Munster, Elvira, and Morticia Addams.</span><br /><span style="color: red;"><br /></span><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Suzanne-Madron/e/B0143WAMGC/"><img border="0" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-jEj488KbvSI/Wk2ojyGEybI/AAAAAAAAC1w/k12hlQzPiSsjAvrqzog4EG1lryoyIKcmwCK4BGAYYCw/s1600/9945_646463078748637_1405706567_n.jpg" /></a></div><br />SK: What are you working on/promoting currently?<span style="color: red;"><br /></span><span style="color: red;">SM:&nbsp;&nbsp;</span><br /><span style="color: red;"><br /></span><span style="color: red;">Working on:</span><br /><span style="color: red;"><br /></span><span style="color: red;">I'm currently working on the fifth book in the <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01N42GSSG?ref=series_rw_dp_labf">IMMORTAL WAR</a> Series as well as a short story for an anthology and the fourth book of the <a href="http://amzn.com/B06XFLXCT3/">METATRON MYSTERIES</a> (written as <a href="https://www.amazon.com/James-Glass/e/B009K6RSG4/">James Glass</a>).</span><br /><span style="color: red;"><br /></span><span style="color: red;">Promoting:</span><br /><span style="color: red;"><br /></span><span style="color: red;"><a href="http://amzn.com/B018YLLOLU/">FOR SALE OR RENT</a>, The&nbsp;</span><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01N42GSSG?ref=series_rw_dp_labf">IMMORTAL WAR</a><span style="color: red;">&nbsp;series,&nbsp;</span><a href="http://amzn.com/B00DHUB694/">APOCRYPHA OF THE APOCALYPSE</a><span style="color: red;">, <a href="http://amzn.com/B0779KKCRV/">MIDDLETOWN APOCALYPSE 3</a>, and <a href="http://amzn.com/B075SD2VDY/">SHADOWS OVER MAIN STREET 2</a>.</span><br /><br />SK: Why should folks check it out?<br /><br /><span style="color: red;">If you're in the market for some new reads: my stories run the gamut from literary speculative fiction to gives-you-nightmares horror (as was the case with my long short story <a href="http://amzn.com/B018YLLOLU/">FOR SALE OR RENT</a>. Everyone who read it messaged me to either praise me or yell at me for scaring them to the point they couldn't sleep. My work here is done).</span><br /><span style="color: red;"><br /></span><span style="color: red;">The&nbsp;</span><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01N42GSSG?ref=series_rw_dp_labf">IMMORTAL WAR</a><span style="color: red;">&nbsp;series deals with a truly messed-up bizarre love quadrilateral between vampires, an angel, and a Titan. Yeah, I know, vampires, they're so undead. These ones are a bit different, though. They're ancient Greco-Roman deities.</span><br /><span style="color: red;"><br /></span><span style="color: red;"><a href="http://amzn.com/B00DHUB694/">APOCRYPHA OF THE APOCALYPSE</a> is a bit of a sampler with some flash pieces and the novella "The Lazarus Stone" [Conspiracy Edit] included.</span><br /><span style="color: red;"><br /></span><a href="http://amzn.com/B0779KKCRV/">MIDDLETOWN APOCALYPSE 3</a><span style="color: red;">&nbsp;is a collection of a single zombie story told by different authors. My story "One Last Night on the Stigmata Tour" is sharing a TOC with the likes of&nbsp;</span><a href="https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=dp_byline_sr_ebooks_10?ie=UTF8&amp;text=Jaime++Johnesee&amp;search-alias=digital-text&amp;field-author=Jaime++Johnesee&amp;sort=relevancerank">Jaime Johnesee</a><span style="color: red;">,&nbsp;</span><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Jay-Wilburn/e/B00BGVWV2M/ref=dp_byline_cont_ebooks_2">Jay Wilburn</a><span style="color: red;">,&nbsp;</span><a href="https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=dp_byline_sr_ebooks_7?ie=UTF8&amp;text=Eric+Shelman&amp;search-alias=digital-text&amp;field-author=Eric+Shelman&amp;sort=relevancerank">Eric Shelman</a><span style="color: red;">,&nbsp;</span><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Rebecca-Besser/e/B004V3IIC4/ref=dp_byline_cont_ebooks_4">Rebecca Besser</a><span style="color: red;">, and&nbsp;</span><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Chuck-Buda/e/B015D0FJPW/ref=dp_byline_cont_ebooks_6">Chuck Buda</a><span style="color: red;">, to name a few.</span><br /><br /><a href="http://amzn.com/B075SD2VDY/">SHADOWS OVER MAIN STREET 2</a><span style="color: red;">&nbsp;contains my story "The Water Shed" and also features stories from&nbsp;</span><a href="https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=dp_byline_sr_ebooks_3?ie=UTF8&amp;text=Joe+R.+Lansdale&amp;search-alias=digital-text&amp;field-author=Joe+R.+Lansdale&amp;sort=relevancerank">Joe Lansdale</a><span style="color: red;">, <a href="https://www.amazon.com/C.-W.-LaSart/e/B005RFROZ2/">C.W. LaSart</a>, <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Eden-Royce/e/B004XVKWTG/">Eden Royce</a>, <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Damien-Angelica-Walters/e/B0074WJI1O/">Damien Angelica Walters</a>, and many more.</span><br /><span style="color: red;"><br /></span><h3>About <a href="http://amzn.com/B018YLLOLU/">FOR SALE OR RENT</a>:</h3><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://amzn.com/B018YLLOLU/"><img alt="28101675" src="https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1449288863l/28101675.jpg" /></a></div><br />The house across the street seems to go on the market every few months, but this time nothing about the sale is normal, including the new owners. No sooner has the for sale sign come down and the neighborhood is thrown into a Lovecraftian nightmare and the only way to find out is to attend the house warming party.http://manuscriptsburn.blogspot.com/2018/02/women-in-horror-month-1-suzanne-madron.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Stephen Kozeniewski)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7224206690870340098.post-2278363040113760689Wed, 31 Jan 2018 17:00:00 +00002018-01-31T12:00:35.420-05:00Women in Horror MonthWomen in Horror Month 2018 ScheduleHey everybody!&nbsp; I'm super stoked to announce this year's lineup of interviews for Women in Horror Month.&nbsp; Why do we need a WiHM?&nbsp; I talked about that over here.<br /><br />But first, a quick word.&nbsp; When I was planning this year's schedule, I was looking back at the rosters for <a href="http://manuscriptsburn.blogspot.com/2017/01/revisiting-women-in-horror-month-2016.html">2016</a> and 2017.&nbsp; And I said to myself, "You know what?&nbsp; This is such a wealth of riches, I am tapped.&nbsp; I have used up every contact, pulled in every favor, to have two years of truly top tier talent."<br /><br />I was this close to tapping out in 2018.&nbsp; I've enjoyed presenting a fresh slate of interviews every year, and I pretty much thought I was done and would have to go back to the well this year.&nbsp; But I reached out to some people I didn't know very well, and they all came through.&nbsp; I'm very excited about this year's slate of interviewees, and I think you will be, too!<br /><br /><a href="https://twitter.com/SuzanneMadron">Suzi Madron</a> - 2/2<br /><a href="https://twitter.com/Vee_L_Smith">Veronica Smith</a> - 2/5<br /><a href="https://twitter.com/JenniferTLoring">Jennifer Loring</a> - 2/7<br /><a href="https://twitter.com/PerrineShannon">S.L. Perrine</a> - 2/9<br /><a href="https://twitter.com/Pippa__Bailey">Pippa Bailey</a> - 2/12<br /><a href="https://twitter.com/ChaucerBabe">Kelly A. Evans</a> - 2/14<br /><a href="https://twitter.com/DamienAWalters">Damien Angelica Walters</a> - 2/16<br /><a href="https://twitter.com/srobb76">Suzanne Robb</a> - 2/19<br /><a href="https://www.facebook.com/lisa.morton.165">Lisa Morton</a> - 2/19 (will be posted on my group blog, <a href="http://atbwriters.blogspot.com/">Across the Board</a>)<br /><a href="https://twitter.com/ClaireCRiley">Claire C. Riley</a> - 2/21<br /><a href="https://christinemariemorgan.wordpress.com/">Christine Morgan</a> - 2/23<br /><a href="https://twitter.com/MonicaJORourke">Monica J. O'Rourke</a> - 2/26<br /><a href="https://twitter.com/ShellyRosa88">Shelly Rosamilia</a> - 2/28http://manuscriptsburn.blogspot.com/2018/01/women-in-horror-month-2018-schedule.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Stephen Kozeniewski)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7224206690870340098.post-2038717320109767132Mon, 29 Jan 2018 17:00:00 +00002018-01-29T12:00:54.777-05:00Women in Horror MonthRevisiting Women in Horror Month 2017<div>Hey everybody!&nbsp; Before we jump into our WiHM 9 interview slate, I thought it might be nice to take a look back at last year's incredible lineup.&nbsp; (And while you're at it, why not take a quick peek at <a href="http://manuscriptsburn.blogspot.com/2017/01/revisiting-women-in-horror-month-2016.html">2016's</a> as well?)</div><div><br /></div><div>Last year we spoke to:</div><br /><a href="http://manuscriptsburn.blogspot.com/2017/02/women-in-horror-month-1-sc-parris.html">S.C. Parris</a><div><a href="http://manuscriptsburn.blogspot.com/2017/02/women-in-horror-month-2-kayleigh-marie.html">Kayleigh Marie Edwards</a></div><div><a href="http://manuscriptsburn.blogspot.com/2017/02/women-in-horror-month-3-somer-canon.html">Somer Canon</a></div><div><a href="http://manuscriptsburn.blogspot.com/2017/02/women-in-horror-month-4-cv-hunt-head.html">C.V. Hunt</a></div><div><a href="http://manuscriptsburn.blogspot.com/2017/02/women-in-horror-month-5-jaime-johnesee.html">Jaime Johnesee</a></div><div><a href="http://manuscriptsburn.blogspot.com/2017/02/women-in-horror-month-6-crystal-connor.html">Crystal Connor</a></div><div><a href="http://manuscriptsburn.blogspot.com/2017/02/women-in-horror-month-7-mary.html">Mary SanGiovanni</a></div><div><a href="http://manuscriptsburn.blogspot.com/2017/02/women-in-horror-month-8-amber-fallon.html">Amber Fallon</a></div><div><a href="http://manuscriptsburn.blogspot.com/2017/02/women-in-horror-month-9-nikki-howard.html">Nikki Howard</a></div><div><a href="http://manuscriptsburn.blogspot.com/2017/02/women-in-horror-month-10-kindra-sowder.html">Kindra Sowder</a></div><div><a href="http://manuscriptsburn.blogspot.com/2017/02/women-in-horror-month-11-lesley-conner.html">Lesley Conner</a></div><div><a href="http://manuscriptsburn.blogspot.com/2017/02/women-in-horror-month-12-rose-okeefe.html">Rose O'Keefe</a></div>http://manuscriptsburn.blogspot.com/2018/01/revisiting-women-in-horror-month-2017.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Stephen Kozeniewski)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7224206690870340098.post-3539489396806459632Fri, 26 Jan 2018 21:28:00 +00002018-01-26T16:28:52.534-05:00My Lunch with Jack Ketchum<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The horror world lost a tremendous voice this week in Dallas Mayr, better known by one of his many pen names: Jack Ketchum.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Facebook and Twitter are alight with remembrances of Jack.&nbsp; (You'll forgive me, I hope, if I use his pseudonym throughout this post.&nbsp; I didn't know him well enough to pretend like he was "Dallas" to me.)&nbsp; All these recollections combine to paint a portrait of the kindly, beloved uncle of the horror genre; a titan of an author, but one who did not act like he was above everyone else.&nbsp; By all measures, he seems to have been an avuncular, giving, and jovial person.&nbsp; This was my experience with him as well.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I met Jack on only one occasion: World Horror Convention 2016 in Provo, Utah.&nbsp; I flew in early and met up with Brian Keene just a few hours before he was planning to interview Jack for his podcast.&nbsp; I strongly recommend you listen to <a href="http://www.thehorrorshowwithbriankeene.com/?p=524">that podcast</a> if you haven't before.&nbsp; It's a fascinating character study, going over his time as a literary agent to Henry Miller and how, as a family friend, he helped to encourage Lady Gaga's pop career.&nbsp; In the background, whenever you hear ice cubes tinkling, that was me, trying to pour bourbon for Brian and Scotch for Jack (Dewar's, if memory serves) as quietly as possible, while failing by and large.&nbsp; Simply being a fly on the wall for that afternoon was enough to give me butterflies in my stomach.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Jack was Brian's mentor, and Brian is my mentor.&nbsp; Going farther back Robert Bloch wrote letters encouraging a young Dallas Mayr.&nbsp; And H.P. Lovecraft, of course, encouraged Bloch.&nbsp; It's a literary genealogy I can scarcely believe I'm part of, but one of many reasons why I was very glad to meet my spiritual grandpa (A term I suspect he would have hated, having a perpetually wry and youthful attitude towards the world.)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-tGRA9Y5kvvM/WmuP14a-e_I/AAAAAAAAC7k/mc4e0IifLtkKgsGUoW1eKSSSXyyuuM9dACLcBGAs/s1600/13133174_10153579055631728_225727355342827151_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="300" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-tGRA9Y5kvvM/WmuP14a-e_I/AAAAAAAAC7k/mc4e0IifLtkKgsGUoW1eKSSSXyyuuM9dACLcBGAs/s400/13133174_10153579055631728_225727355342827151_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">L to R: Brian Keene, myself, Jack Ketchum</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">The two men then invited me to lunch.&nbsp; We walked a few blocks from the hotel to a New York-style deli.&nbsp; It seemed like a serviceable place to get sandwiches in north-central Utah, but with Jack being from New York City I looked at him and jokingly said, "You must feel right at home."&nbsp; A sour look crossed his face and he just shook his head and said "No."</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">We all talked a bit as I tried not to be "that guy."&nbsp; I recall asking where he'd been when Kennedy was shot - probably we'd been discussing 9/11 for some reason and where we all were.&nbsp; I remember flinching inwardly, because it had seemed like a perfectly natural question as it left my mouth, but immediately felt like I was calling him old.&nbsp; If he was offended (or even noticed) he didn't show it, and told us his Kennedy assassination story.&nbsp; And now I really wish that I'd written a journal of that weekend, because that's all I can remember discussing.&nbsp; I recorded my more immediate feelings about the weekend on the blog&nbsp;<a href="http://manuscriptsburn.blogspot.com/2016/05/world-horror-con-2016-autopsy.html">here</a>, but not a terrible amount about that lunch, which is a shame.&nbsp;&nbsp;</div><div><br /></div><div>The next time I encountered Jack that weekend was at the Gross-Out Contest, and, yes, he was doing a reading.&nbsp; I went on to win that contest.&nbsp; (You can read, or, more appropriately, don't, my winning entry <a href="http://manuscriptsburn.blogspot.com/2016/05/2016-world-horror-convention-gross-out.html">here</a>.)&nbsp; In my valedictory speech I concluded with "I've waited all my life to be told I was a greater writer than Jack Ketchum, and tonight you've all made my dream come true."&nbsp; I cringed again about that later, but at the time I was very drunk, and in any case, it made Jack and the whole room laugh.&nbsp;&nbsp;</div><div><br /></div><div>Brian told me later that Jack walked up to him after the contest, and in a tone that even in our brief acquaintanceship I could tell was pure, 100% uncut Ketchum, asked, referring to me, "He's one of <i>yours</i>, isn't he?"</div><div><br /></div><div>Later, at a party in Brian's room, Jack was sitting, an unwavering smile on his face, drinking Scotch, wearing a scarf, and just generally being Jack.&nbsp; Thinking to myself that this was possibly a singular opportunity, but still wary about being "that guy" I asked Brian if it would be okay to get a picture with him and Jack.</div><div><br /></div><div>"I thought you were going to be cool," Brian hissed. "I'm not going to keep inviting you around anymore if you keep doing this shit."</div><div><br /></div><div>A block of ice dropped into my stomach, and for the third time I worried that I had really stuck my foot in it, and now Jack Ketchum was going to hate me forever, and disown me as his grand-whatever.&nbsp; But, of course, Brian was fucking with me, because of course he was fucking with me.&nbsp; And then we got the photo pictured above.</div><div><br /></div><div>I know that's not much, scarcely more than a long anecdote, but that was my experience with Jack Ketchum, and in that brief time he left a lasting impression on me.&nbsp; As I've described him throughout, he was charming, kind, a little rascally, and perpetually a fascinating gentleman.&nbsp; But the greater impression he'll leave is, of course, on the horror world, which has now lost one of its most singular and revolutionary voices.&nbsp;&nbsp;</div>http://manuscriptsburn.blogspot.com/2018/01/my-lunch-with-jack-ketchum.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Stephen Kozeniewski)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7224206690870340098.post-2389545042024831335Wed, 24 Jan 2018 17:00:00 +00002018-01-24T12:00:30.663-05:00Women in Horror MonthWomen in Horror Month 9 FAQ<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://womeninhorrormonth.com/"><img border="0" data-original-height="581" data-original-width="1600" height="145" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dYbskqPFYCo/Wmf5kb4FWJI/AAAAAAAAC7M/0HPwkOBkXy8Cn2ko42IaVQjXCqth10JRQCLcBGAs/s400/WiHM9-Black-vector.png" width="400" /></a></div><br /><br />Hey everybody!&nbsp; October, a.k.a. "Horror Christmas" is, naturally, my favorite month of the year.&nbsp; But it's almost February, my second favorite month of the year.<br /><br />And why is February my favorite month of the year?&nbsp; Because every year I get to showcase a bunch of great horror industry professionals.&nbsp; That's right, it's Women in Horror Month!&nbsp; The 9th year, in fact.<br /><br />Starting February 2, and every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday thereafter (including a special bonus President's Day interview on <a href="http://atbwriters.blogspot.com/">Across the Board</a> on the 19th) I'll be interviewing thirteen of the finest ladies working in the field.&nbsp; But first, let's look at some commonly asked questions.<br /><br /><b>Q:&nbsp; Why don't you interview women every other month of the year?</b><br /><br />A:&nbsp; I do!&nbsp; Feel free to <a href="http://manuscriptsburn.blogspot.com/p/about-me.html">get in touch</a> any old time if you're interested in being featured on the blog, regardless of gender.<br /><br /><b>Q:&nbsp; Isn't it dismissive and parochial for you to have a month focused on women, as though they don't normally count?</b><br /><br />A:&nbsp; I'm of the mindset that affirmative action is required to combat pervasive institutional bigotry and misogyny.&nbsp; In other words, yes, that means favoring groups which have been historically discriminated against, such as women.<br /><br /><b>Q:&nbsp; No, but I mean isn't it dismissive and parochial for <i>you</i> to participate in this as a wealthy, white, cisgendered male?</b><br /><br />A:&nbsp; Maybe.&nbsp; I've been very fortunate to be born who I was in the time period I was born in.&nbsp; And it is my sincere belief that it is the responsibility of those who have to share with those who don't.&nbsp; If I have a disproportionately strong platform just because of who I am, then you can be damn sure I'm going to use that platform to celebrate traditionally marginalized voices.&nbsp; I'd rather be accused of trying too hard than of sitting on my hands.<br /><br /><b>Q:&nbsp; Your answers make you sound like a PC-thug SJW.</b><br /><br />A:&nbsp; If you're the type of person who genuinely thinks "social justice" is a bad thing, then I don't really give a shit what you think of me, WiHM, or anything, really.<br /><br /><b>Q:&nbsp; I have some further arguments against WiHM...</b><br /><br />A:&nbsp; All right, let me stop you right there.&nbsp; I think overall WiHM is a respectful, well-meaning, positive celebration.&nbsp; If you happen to personally not want to participate, I'm not going to force you.&nbsp; Everyone involved has volunteered their time, and yes, I've invited people who have respectfully declined for some of the reasons we've discussed above.&nbsp; But if you've heard me admit that the event is a little hokey, maybe a little controversial, but overall a bit of harmless fun, and you're still arguing with me, then I think you may just be a knuckle-dragger or a troll.http://manuscriptsburn.blogspot.com/2018/01/women-in-horror-month-9-faq.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Stephen Kozeniewski)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7224206690870340098.post-371097478578887132Mon, 22 Jan 2018 21:12:00 +00002018-01-22T16:12:50.639-05:00Across the BoardHey everybody!<div><br /></div><div>I just got finished posting <a href="http://atbwriters.blogspot.com/2018/01/breaking-good.html">the mother of all blogposts</a> over on my group blog&nbsp;<a href="http://atbwriters.blogspot.com/">Across the Board</a>.&nbsp; And it was great.&nbsp; It was about writing.&nbsp; It could have been a "Making the Sausage" post here on Manuscripts Burn.&nbsp; It was also talking about something I've never done before: collaborating in a writers room.</div><div><br /></div><div>It was so good, in fact, that I was halfway tempted to just copy and paste it here.&nbsp; And...technically I could have.&nbsp; Our rule at the group blog is that cross-posting is allowed.&nbsp; But I also didn't want to.&nbsp; For one thing, it felt cheap.&nbsp; It felt lazy.&nbsp; And I don't want to be lazy with Manuscripts Burn this year.&nbsp; I did enough of that last year and watched my stats tumble from "finally getting to be a tastemaker" all the way back to "damn, son, you started a blog?"</div><div><br /></div><div>So, instead, I'm just going to write something brief encouraging you to go follow <a href="http://atbwriters.blogspot.com/">Across the Board</a> if you haven't already.&nbsp; You do know how to follow on Blogger, right?&nbsp; Every blog has a widget with a series of pictures of all of that blog's followers.&nbsp; If you have a Google Plus account (you probably do, and if you use Gmail you definitely do) you can just click the "Follow" button to join the fun.&nbsp; (Or, to make it easier, you can click <a href="https://www.blogger.com/follow.g?view=FOLLOW&amp;blogID=1020653850161663700">this link</a> for ATB or <a href="https://www.blogger.com/follow.g?view=FOLLOW&amp;blogID=7224206690870340098">here</a> for Manuscripts Burn.)</div><div><br /></div><div>If you click on the label <a href="http://atbwriters.blogspot.com/search/label/Steve">Steve</a> you can see all of my posts.&nbsp; But you really shouldn't just do that.&nbsp; We have an incredibly diverse cross-section of writers and readers and they all have great perspectives on all sorts of things.&nbsp; It's not like this blog, with me just yammering at you all the time.</div><div><br /></div><div>(Oh, and <span style="color: red;">BTW</span>, one of the simultaneously freakiest and funniest horror stories I ever wrote is over on <span style="color: red;">ATB</span> <a href="http://atbwriters.blogspot.com/2015/05/acronyms-and-abbreviations-of-literary.html">here</a>.&nbsp; See the kind of gems you might be missing out on?)</div>http://manuscriptsburn.blogspot.com/2018/01/across-board.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Stephen Kozeniewski)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7224206690870340098.post-8229603026979577239Fri, 19 Jan 2018 17:00:00 +00002018-01-19T12:00:16.895-05:00Biggest Events of 2017Maybe it's because 2017 was&nbsp;<a href="http://manuscriptsburn.blogspot.com/2018/01/making-sausage-bookkeeping.html">the first year I drew a profit at this writing endeavor</a>, or maybe it was something else, but I feel a lot like I'm at a turning point in my career.&nbsp; So I thought it might be nice in early (er, mid-) January to stop and reflect on the year that was.&nbsp; So here's some of the big, some of the small, and some of the amazing stuff that happened to me in 2017:<br /><br />14.)&nbsp; Attended Farpoint, Carlisle High School Sci-Fi Day, Scares That Care, Shore Leave, the Red Lion Street Fair, and Chessiecon<br /><br />13.)&nbsp; Appeared on "The Horror Show With Brian Keene" for a round-table discussion on working for exposure<br /><br />12.)&nbsp; Had my first short to appear in a magazine, "Tuesday's Dead" published in "Unnerving."<br /><br />11.)&nbsp; Released audiobooks for BILLY AND THE CLONEASAURUS and THE GHOUL ARCHIPELAGO, my first self-published work.<br /><br /><div>10.)&nbsp; Had my short story "Deep into that Dark One Peering" accepted in CLICKERS FOREVER</div><br />9.)&nbsp; Released THE HEMATOPHAGES<br /><br /><div>8.)&nbsp; Appeared on "The Horror Show With Brian Keene" for an episode focused on THE HEMATOPHAGES, where Brian names it the best book of the year</div><div><br /></div><div>7.)&nbsp; Completed my first collaboration, SLASHVIVOR! with Stevie Kopas, concluding my four-book deal with Sinister Grin Press.</div><div><br /></div>6.)&nbsp; Had my short story "All Dolled Up" accepted in WHISPERS OF THE APOC.<br /><br />5.)&nbsp; Got a blurb from Stephen Graham Jones for SLASHVIVOR!<br /><br />4.)&nbsp; Had a review of THE HEMATOPHAGES appear in Analog.<br /><br />3.)&nbsp; The release of CLICKERS FOREVER marks my first inclusion in a limited edition or a hardcover.<br /><br />2.)&nbsp; Appeared on a panel at Chessiecon with legendary comic writer Scott Edelman.<br /><br />1.)&nbsp; Had THE HEMATOPHAGES named the #4 book of the year by Bryan Smith<br /><div><br /></div><div>How about you?&nbsp; What were some of your biggest accomplishments and achievements in 2017?&nbsp; What are you hoping to get done this year?</div>http://manuscriptsburn.blogspot.com/2018/01/biggest-events-of-2017.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Stephen Kozeniewski)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7224206690870340098.post-2887588156492330687Wed, 17 Jan 2018 17:00:00 +00002018-01-17T12:00:00.377-05:00Whispers of the ApocThe Quintessential WHISPERS OF THE APOC Post<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://amzn.com/B078SHT523/" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1067" height="640" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-lVFnaZUd-Qc/WlAicy7vAjI/AAAAAAAAC4M/MVPKVgdYSZs9dlTSpmo_0pSuSatKiJ4MQCLcBGAs/s640/Whispers%2Bof%2Bthe%2BApoc%2Bcover.jpg" width="426" /></a></div><br />WHISPERS OF THE APOC featuring my short "All Dolled Up" is now available in e-book and paperback formats:<br /><br /><a href="http://amzn.com/B078SHT523/">Amazon</a><br /><br />It's also got a page on <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/37809686-whispers-of-the-apoc?from_search=true">Goodreads</a>.<br /><br />Here are the other places around the net where you can find info on WHISPERS OF THE APOC:<br /><br /><a href="https://writingcareer.com/whispers-of-the-apoc-anthology-calls-for-zombie-apocalypse-stories/">A call announcement on Writing Career</a><br /><div><a href="https://www.darkmarkets.com/2017/06/whispers-of-apoc.html">A call announcement on Dark Markets</a></div><div><a href="https://www.dalecameronlowry.com/call-for-submissions-zombie-apocalypse-stories-due-sept-2017/">A call announcement on Dale Cameron Lowery's site</a></div><div><a href="http://sandraseamans.blogspot.com/2017/06/tannhauser-press-anthology-call.html">A call announcement on Sandra Seamans's site</a></div><div><a href="http://davidkeener.org/stories/">David Keener's bibliography</a></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>http://manuscriptsburn.blogspot.com/2018/01/the-quintessential-whispers-of-apoc-post.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Stephen Kozeniewski)2